Welcome to the Supernatural DWMA
by GypsyReaper
Summary: Welcome to Night Vale X Supernatural X Soul Eater AU. 16 year-old Dean Winchester is a hunter accepted into the DWMA to be a meister. Castiel Novak is a rare Angel Blade weapon. Can Dean and Cas survive training, classes, and girl problems to, along with their friends, save the world from the evil threatening to overrun it?
1. Chapter 1

**A.N: So, this is a Supernatural Soul Eater AU, with some Welcome to Night Vale and other fandoms thrown in for fun. Almost all of the characters and situations are based on Supernatural seasons 1-5. Also, I am leaving it up the readers if this is going to become an eventual Destiel and or Sabriel. (Considering my two betas are my boyfriend and his best friend I didn't want to scar them that badly so I'm using ya'll as an excuse. :D) Just say if you want these ships in your reviews! This will be a long story, but it's worth it, I promise!**

* * *

_Chapter 1_

Just relax, Castiel reminded himself. Just let go, and relax, This is it. This is the one.

Hands gripped tightly around his body, and he forced himself to go limp. Instead of feeling supported, he heard a sharp cry of pain, and he was freefalling. Castiel's weapon form hit the ground hard, and he reverted from his Angel Blade body back to his lithe teenage self, lying on his back and rubbing the back of his head.

He looked up at the girl meister who had tried to wield him, and she hissed in pain. He could see the bright pink line across her palms. Another student who has gotten burned upon touching my weapon form.

"I'm sorry," he said, his lanky and short teenage body a jarring visage to the deep, gruff, stoic voice he spoke with, as though he was many centuries old.

"S'alright," the girl muttered, but she quickly walked away, leaving him alone.

Orientation Day at the DWMA was supposed to be a day of trial and error as people found their partners, but Castiel had hurt seven students so far. Word had spread quickly, and no one was even coming over to say hi, never mind try to their luck at wielding him. He knew that being a rare Angel Blade weapon might cause him grief, but now he was starting to lose faith anyone would ever be able to wield him.

He lay on the cold stone for a moment, and let the chatter of the other students wash over him. For a few moments he soaked up the sun, until a black shadow dimmed it. Opening his eyes, he saw another student, a boy about his age, looking at him. "You just gonna lay around all day?" the boy asked.

Castiel shrugged. "Seems like an appropriate response to rejection."

The boy held out a hand, offering to help him up. "Come on, you aren't going to find your Meister down there, I promise."

Castiel stared at the boy for so long the newcomer's hand began to falter under the blue gaze.

Eventually, the weapon took the hand, and was surprised how strong the boy was as he was lifted up almost effortlessly.

"Dean Winchester," the boy said, shaking Castiel's hand. He wore boots, blue jeans, a plain t-shirt. His brown hair was short and spiked up, and he was a few inches taller than Castiel.

"Castiel Novak." The weapon was lean with ruffled brown hair and intense blue eyes. He was shorter and lighter than Dean, and wore slacks plus a buttoned down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows.

"Castiel, huh? Mind if I call you Cas instead?"

Castiel thought for a moment and then shook his head. "Cas is fine."

"Awesome. Well, Cas, why don't we check out the food table. I'm starving, and they've got a killer pie collection."

"Killer pie sounds like something we should stay far away from," Cas said.

Dean gave him a look, but then chuckled. "Oh, you're a literal type of guy, huh? Fun times."

Castiel was confused by Dean's slang, but followed him over the food table anyway, where it was actually empty. Most students had found their partners and were getting to know each other.

They moved to an empty corner of the outdoor patio, Dean with a plate full of hamburger and apple pie, while Castiel munched quietly on celery sticks. Dean laughed at his "rabbit food," but Castiel simply kept munching.

"So, no one had claimed you for their own yet, huh?" Dean asked, trying to make small talk around bites of meat and bread. Castiel looked at him, then averted his eyes. "No. Everyone who has attempted to wield me has gotten burned."

Dean eyes widened in surprise. "Seriously? That seems a little like overkill."

Castiel shrugged. "I'm an Angel Blade. We're very…finicky…about who wields us." He watched Dean for a moment, then quickly swiped a French fry from the bigger boy's plate, making him growl. "Since you are sitting here with me, I'm going to assume you haven't found a suitable partner either?"

Dean swallowed and shook his head. "Not so far. I was hoping a cute girl would be my partner but, so far, no dice. Everyone says my grip's too strong, and my callouses hurt them. Bunch of pansies, all of them."

"Callouses?" Castiel asked curiously, and Dean turned up his palm to show that, indeed he had many rough patches on his hands. "What are those from?"

"Guns and knives, mostly," Dean answered nonchalantly.

"Guns and knives," Castiel repeated, arching an eyebrow.

"I come from a family of Hunters," Dean explained. "My mom and dad are Hunters, and brought up me and my little sister as such too. We hunt monsters, the good old-fashioned way."

Most of the time, people didn't believe Dean when he said that, but Castiel simply took everything in stride. "That sounds interesting. Must be very dangerous work."

"Very. Almost died a few times in my life. But, what can I say? Saving people, hunting things, it's the family business."

"Any meisters in your family?"

"Nope. Actually, I'm the first one," Dean said, chest swelling with pride. "This will give me a big edge over those vampires and werewolves we're always going after."

"As soon as you find a suitable partner, you mean?" Castiel reminded him.

"Yeah, yeah." Dean finished up his lunch and started looking around at the other students milling about, trying to figure out which one he could go to next. "Should probably get back to that."

Dean tossed his trash, and shoved his hands in his jean pockets, clearly unsure where to start next.

Castiel stood by him, looking over the crowd without any look of intention on his face.

"Dean, I have an idea," Cas said, trailing off.

After a moment of silence, Castiel turned his bright, unwavering stare on the taller boy.

"Okay, go on," Dean waved him to continue.

"Right. Well…since I haven't been able to find a partner, and you haven't been able to find a partner, why don't we give it a try together?"

Dean looked at the boy, then laughed. "Dude, you're not exactly my type. I was hoping for a

more…cute…partner. Maybe with freckles and glasses." When Cas continued to give him an unclear look, Dean sighed. "Ya know, one of the more female persuasion."

"Neither of us is in a position to be picky," Castiel pointed out, much to Dean's annoyance.

Castiel very slowly looked Dean up and down, making him feel a little self-conscience. It was like Cas was seeing right through him, like he was looking at his very soul. Hell, maybe he is.

"Alright, fine, let's give it a try," Dean said, and clapped him on the shoulder, a smile spreading over his face. "I mean, after all, what's the worst that could happen?"

"You could drop me and have your hands burned," Castiel said stoically. Dean's charming smile wavered slightly, but he just chuckled. "You certainly have a way with words, Cas."

"Just try not to drop me," Castiel said, and he closed his eyes. He could feel the magic coursing through him, and felt his body change into the blade. Just relax, he reminded himself, and he felt the strong grip surround his body, just like before. But this time there was no exclamation of pain, or the sensation of freefalling. Instead, he was being held aloft as though he was as light as a feather.

He looked up from the shining blade to see Dean, holding him, looking just as surprised as Castiel felt.

"Oh, come on! Seriously? A silver stake? I was expecting something a lot….heavier," he said, although impressive was what he really thought. After a moment, a panicked look came over him. "Wait, wait! No cute girl, no freckles, no glasses? I got gypped on this whole partner deal."

Castiel couldn't help but feel a bit hurt at Dean's outburst. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off. Suddenly standing before them was a man in a black business suit and red hair. It was Spirit Alban, the current Death Scythe. He grinned at them. "Congratulations, boys. You're now partners!"

After a moment, Dean looked at the blade, at Castiel's reflection, and sighed. "Well, this is unexpected," the hunter murmured in annoyance.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The phone rang a couple times before it was answered. A man answered the voice with a gruff "This is Agent Franko, F.B.I., how can I—"

"Dad, it's me," Dean said, cutting him off with a chuckle. "Did you even bother to look at the caller I.D.?"

"I may be older, but I'm not dumb you idjit," Bobby said, but he was smiling as he spoke. "I know how caller I.D. works. I was expecting a call from Rufus."

"On a hunt again already? Didn't we just take out a wendigo two days ago?"

"More like a week ago. Time flies when there's work to be done," Bobby said with a shrug. "If you hold on a second I can put you on speaker so your Mom can hear you, too."

"Alright."

Bobby waved over Ellen from the sink where she was washing up from dinner. "Dean's calling from school, come on over to say hi.

"So, boy, how goes the Academy?" Bobby asked loudly.

"It's fine," Dean said noncommittally.

"Were you able to find a partner, Dean?" Ellen asked.

There was a moment of silence on the phone. "Dean?" she asked again.

"Yeah, just not what I was expecting," the boy answered, sounding a little irritated.

"Who did you get?" Bobby asked.

There was a pause. "A guy named Castiel," Dean said quickly. "He's a weapon called an Angel Blade, although he looked like a silver stake to me."

"Sounds like you should be grateful you found a compatible partner. So what's with the irritated tone?" his father asked.

"It's just…I was expecting something really cool, but I got stuck with a guy who can turn into a silver toothpick and has zero sense of humor," Dean said with a pout.

"Doesn't sound like you're off on the best foot. Geez, Dean, ya just met him today! Don't write him off just yet," Bobby chided.

"It's just….he's the quiet, stoic type. Not exactly partner material."

"You mean lady friend material," Bobby said, seeing through Dean's complaint.

Even though he was on a cell phone several hundred miles away, Bobby and Ellen could tell Dean was blushing like crazy as he attempted to change the direction of the conversation.

"Well…I mean…maybe a little. It's just…normally guys and girls are partnered up. So, I was, uh, just as surprised when it worked. Apparently everyone who had tried to hold him got their hands burned," Dean explained. He hoped his embarrassing parents took the hint to steer clear of any more girl-talk.

"You didn't get burned, did you, honey?" Ellen asked.

"Uh, nope, perfectly fine. Hey, is Jo there?"

"She's outside right now," Ellen answered.

"Think she's still upset that you got to go to fancy meister school and she got left behind," Bobby said quietly.

"It's not like I decided to be a meister," Dean grumbled. He didn't like his little sister being mad at him for any reason. He felt like a terrible older brother when they fought.

"We know, Dean. We're all proud of you, no matter how much of a fit she might throw," Ellen said reassuringly. Suddenly, another phone on the wall started to ring, which Bobby grabbed quickly. After a moment of hearing the person on the other end, Bobby rolled his eyes. After confirming that he was the F.B.I. and yes, that particular person was an actual agent, he hung up and grumbled about Rufus giving the wrong number to the local law enforcement once again.

"Alright, well, I should get going," Dean said, hearing his Dad muttering darkly about Uncle Rufus. "You guys be careful on the next hunt. It feels weird not being with you guys."

"You'll do fine, son. Keep your head up and do your best," Bobby said. "And try to get along with the new partner, Castiel, right?"

"Yeah, I will. Don't have much choice anymore."

"Good boy. Also, if anyone crosses you, you are allowed to kick their ass," Ellen added. "Love you honey."

"Thanks Mom, Dad. Love you guys, and let Jo know too. Later."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The new dorm apartment was probably the nicest place Dean had ever seen, and that included his own house. As much as Mom tried to keep the place clean, being a hunter with a family meant old books of lore, gun parts, and miscellaneous bits of black magic spell ingredients were thrown about on top of the mess made by a family of four.

Castiel was sitting on the couch in the living room, a few bags sitting on the floor next to him. He was looking around the room as though not exactly sure what to do with himself either. Dean also caught the fact that Cas was looking in every direction except where he was standing with his duffel bag. Ah, great, this isn't gonna be friggin' awkward at all.

"Hey, Cas, missed ya at dinner."

Cas shrugged. "I wasn't hungry."

"Well, you missed out," Dean said cheerfully, patting his stomach contently. "Food was excellent. I think I can get used to this! So, where's our room?"

Cas pointed out the bedroom and followed Dean inside. Like the rest of the apartment, it was small and bare, but Dean swore when he saw the two twin beds bunked one on top of the other.

"Dammit," he murmured.

"Is something wrong?" Cas asked, giving the beds a curious squint, trying to see what made Dean swore.

"Well, I just….hey, Cas, is there any way I can have the bottom bunk?"

Cas looked at the two bunks and then at Dean. "Are you afraid of heights?"

"What? No!...Not exactly. I just don't want to wake up from a night terror only to find myself falling 6 feet face first towards a concrete floor." The young hunter spoke as though it was nothing unusual.

"You have night terrors? Are they from the 'family business?'" Cas asked.

Dean shrugged. "Pretty much."

Cas looked at the beds again, then nodded. "Sure. I like being on top, anyway."

Dean stiffened, and clenched his teeth as to not burst into laughter at the stoic weapon's verbal gaffe. If he laughed, Cas would ask why, and Dean was not about to explain that particular joke to the clueless guy.

Dean tossed his backpack on the bed, and wandered around the apartment, checking it out.

"You know, when they said pack for a dorm, I was expecting just a bed in a cramped room. I would've brought more stuff if I knew we had an apartment to ourselves," he said with a grin, trying to keep the conversation light.

However, Cas was not having it. He grabbed Dean's shoulder, forcing them to look each other in the face. "Dean, enough. Stop the act."

"Act? Cas, what're you-"

Cas held up a hand, cutting him off. "Look. I know I am not the partner you wanted. Tomorrow I will go and find another room, and another partner. Perhaps you can find someone else as well. Someone whose more your 'type.'"

Dean's face flushed red with embarrassment. He was having a hard time looking his new partner in the eyes. It took him a few minutes to gather his thoughts under the weapon's intense blue stare.

"Look, Cas, I'm sorry about earlier. Really. I was just under the impression that guys and girls partnered up only. I was really excited at the idea of meeting and hanging out with a girl that wasn't my Mom or my little sister, ya know? Anyways, nothing personal, Cas. We okay?"

Castiel gave him another one of those long stares, but Dean didn't look away. Eventually, Cas nodded. "I accept your apology."

"Awesome! Hey, how do you feel about beer?" He went back to the room and pulled out a couple bottles from the duffle bag, handing one to Castiel. Dean flopped onto the couch and put his feet up on the scuffed and scratched the table, popping the cap off the drink. Cas sat next to him, looking at the beer with a mixture of curiosity and slight nervousness, like it was a ticking time-bomb. "I feel that this is alcohol, and is not allowed on school property."

Dean reached over, plucked the bottle from Cas's hands, opened it, and replaced it. "As long as we don't tell anyone, and don't act stupid, no one will ever know, or care."

"Why do you even have alcohol with you? The legal drinking age is 21, which you clearly are not," Cas said, curious.

Dean chuckled. "If I can go out and kill a werewolf on my own and not die, I'm allowed to drink a beer once in a while." He tipped his open drink at Cas, and winked. "Dad's words, not mine."

Cas looked down at his own drink. He sniffed the bottle's contents and wrinkled his nose in disgust. Glancing at Dean and seeing him down the bottle without hesitation, the weapon took a tentative sip, and almost spat it out. It tasted worse than it smelled, but he kept going, and downed the bottle within a few minutes.

Dean grinned, clearly impressed. "So, what's the plan tomorrow?"

"There is no plan. Classes start day after tomorrow. They give us a day to settle in, get to know each other."

"Awesome. Means we can sleep in tomorrow and drink all night!" Dean said excitedly.

"Yes, I suppose we could," Cas replied tentatively, not really looking forward to more alcohol. "Dean, I wanted to say thank you, for agreeing to try and work together."

"Well, I was acting like a jerk, so no problem."

"No, you misunderstand me. I am glad because there is nowhere I could have gone, and no one compatible with me. I would have been difficult, if not impossible, to find a partner."

"Yeah, well, it wasn't like I had to turn away a dozen other proposals. But, you're saying that was a bluff earlier?"

"Yes," Castiel said.

"Holy crap, dude. You were super intense earlier. You'd be awesome at poker."

"What's poker?"

Dean looked at Castiel as though lobsters had started crawling out of his ears. "Okay, this is unacceptable. Classes might not start for another day, but your real education starts tonight, Cas! You'll thank me for this later!"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

In the middle of the night there was a furious knocking on the door to Dean and Castiel's apartment. The two were in the middle of an intense poker game, Dean almost sweating under Cas's long stares. The kid had gone from a novice to being able to kick Dean's pro-level ass in just a few short hours. It was horribly irritating how fast a study Cas actually was.

The pounding was intense and Dean looked through the peep hole to see a shorter, younger man with slicked back bronze hair and amber/golden eyes looking back. The younger guy was looking exceptionally panicked. "Please, let me in!" he asked loudly.

At first, Dean was not about to let some stranger in; however, he looked so freaked out. The guy looked like he had just gotten away from something. He decided to take a chance and open the door, and the kid almost fell inside. While Dean slammed and locked the door, the stranger was doubled over, trying to get his breath. Cas simply looked perplexed.

"Are you hurt?" Dean asked. "Is something after you?"

The boy shook his head, and scoffed. "Yeah, you could say that."

"What was it? Ghost, skinwalker, shifter?" Dean asked, wishing he'd been able to bring his pistol with him, feeling suddenly naked without it.

"What? No! It's something much worse," he said in a conspirator's whisper. He pointed at the door just as someone angrily marched past their door. The peephole wasn't able to allow Dean a good look, so he cracked the door open for a better look. Both Cas and the new guy crowded under him in an attempt to all look into the hallway.

It was the back of a girl, dark-skinned with black hair, wearing a red shirt and jeans. As she suddenly turned back, Dean could've sworn her eyes were glowing red with rage. He slammed the door just as she looked his way.

"What the hell was she?!" Dean asked, freaking out. He didn't have any monster gear on him at all.

"That," the stranger said, "was a Kali. My fiery-headed partner who just can't take a joke."

"Wait, your partner?" Cas asked.

"I thought something was trying to eat you!" Dean growled in exasperation, though he was honestly relieved with wasn't a monster attack.

"The boy looked at Cas in concern. "Is he always this nutty?" he asked, motioning to Dean who could clearly see and hear him.

Castiel shrugged. "I don't know. I just met him today."

"Ah, well, I see you've got your work cut out for you. Speaking of meeting, I'm Gabriel," the boy introduced.

"My name is Castiel Novak."

"Dean Winchester. Hey, Gabriel, Castiel….are you guys…?"

"We aren't related," both Gabriel and Castiel said at once and then looked at each in surprise.

"Of course not," Dean snickered. "Anyway, Gabe, why's your partner trying to kill you?"

Gabriel plopped himself on the couch. "First of all, just call me Gabriel." He eyed the beer bottle and grinned. "Secondly, can I have one, too?"

"Sorry, we're out," Dean grumbled, not about to share his precious stash with a complete stranger.

"But Dean there's-" Cas stared to say, until a glare shut him up.

Gabriel gave Dean his best impression of a sad puppy. "Ah, come on Dean! Just one for your old friend?"

Dean arched an eyebrow. "'Old friend?' I just met you thirty seconds ago."

"And? Time's irrelevant," Gabriel said with a grin.

"Gabriel, Dean asked you a question," Cas said, steering the conversation back on track.

Gabriel signed in an exaggerated manner. "Well, like I said, my partner can't take a joke." He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and after a few moments found the picture he wanted to show them. He gave the phone to Dean, and Cas squished in close to see. Dean looked at his partner, who looked at him confused. "What?" Cas asked.

"Dude, haven't you heard of personal space?"

Cas barely shuffled a few inches away, but it was enough. Dean went back to the picture, and it suddenly hit him what he was looking at. "Did you draw a handlebar moustache on her face? What is that, sharpie?"

"Yes, that's a handlebar. But that's not sharpie, it's calligraphy ink. That's how I got those sweeping lines and perfect shape. Was a real trick to paint that on her face and not wake her up," Gabriel said proudly.

Dean burst into laughter, and even Castiel smiled briefly, though it was more at Dean's infectious belly laugh.

"No wonder she's pissed," the hunter gasped between breathes. "God, I haven't had that good a laugh in forever! I think you better lay low, let her cool her jets tonight. You can crash on the couch, just don't draw mustaches on us while we sleep."

Gabriel looked offended at the idea. "Solemnly swear, won't touch a hair on your head."

* * *

Dean stumbled out of the bedroom towards the kitchen, only to see Castiel sitting at the small counter, reading a book. In front of him was a plate with the remains of eggs on it.

"Man, that smells really good," Dean lamented, wishing they had groceries.

"There's more in the oven," Cas said, never taking his eyes from his book.

"Really? Cas, you're awesome!" Dean said cheerfully. Just as promised, there was a pan full of scrambled eggs and cheese waiting for him. After filling a plate, Dean pulled up a chair next to his partner and dug into breakfast with much gusto.

After downing half the plate ("This is delicious, Cas!") he paused to look around the apartment. "Guess the little guy left, huh?" he said.

"Actually, I escorted him out earlier," Cas said, still reading.

"'Escorted?' Escorted him where?"

"Into the hallway. He was attempting to cover your hand with the shaving cream he found in your duffle bag."

"What? Oh, that little asshat!" Dean growled. "Come on! You'd think he'd learn that playing tricks on stranger doesn't end well. Besides, after that whole 'calligraphy moustache' I would expect something more original than the shaving cream trick."

Cas squinted at him, trying to figure out if he was legitimately angry or not, but seemed to give up. Dean was a mystery he couldn't figure out.

"Anyways, Dean, I was able to go and pick up a few basics from the nearby grocery store, but we need to get more things."

"I don't really care, as long as it's edible, man." He took another bite of eggs, but stopped chewing at gave Cas a funny look. "Hey Cas. You got up, kicked out Gabriel, got dressed, went to the store, and cooked breakfast already? Please tell me it's, like, 3 in the afternoon."

"It's 10:38 a.m."

"Ah, man! Please don't tell me your one of those people that wakes up at the asscrack of dawn for no reason, Castiel."

"I don't wake up at dawn for no reason-"

"Oh, thank god-"

"I do it because I like the early morning. There is something soothing about being the only person awake, like you're the only person awake in the world."

Dean sighed heavily, and patted Cas sadly on the shoulder. "And to think I thought this was going to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

* * *

Castiel was putting away the meager amount of groceries when he realized Dean had been gone a while. He wandered back through the apartment, until he came to stand in the doorway of the bedroom. Dean was sitting on his bed, holding a picture in his hands, and a strange, faraway look on his face.

"Dean?" Cas asked, and Dean jerked at hearing the other boy's voice.

"Oh, hey, Cas," Dean said, and tried to stuff the picture under his pillow. Cas nodded towards it, and asked "What is that picture?"

Dean sighed, and seemed to debate on whether to actually show it to Cas or not. After a moment of Cas standing awkwardly in the doorway, unsure whether to leave or stay, Dean patted the bed next to him, motioning for him to sit. Cas sat down, and Dean showed him the picture.

It was a family portrait. It was black and white, and featured a man with a beard and trucker's cap next to a woman with long hair, who was wearing a denim jacket. They were leaning against an older model muscle car, black. On the hood sat Dean, probably taken within the past year or so, and next to him was a blonde girl of ten.

"That's my dad, Bobby Winchester, and my mom, Ellen Winchester. And of course me and my little sister Jo. And that's baby."

Cas squinted at the picture. "Your little sister looks to be ten years old, not a baby."

"What…no! Baby is the car. It's a 1967 Chevrolet Impala, and she's as much a family member as anyone else. As soon as I graduate from here, Dad's said I can have her."

Dean spoke with so much affection and pride at both introducing his family and the idea of getting his own car and the corner of Cas's lips turned up in a smile. His partner's good mood was pretty infectious. "You have a nice family."

"Thanks. A family of Hunters is pretty rare, but Mom and Dad make it work. We all keep each other safe, while at the same time keeping others safe. Part of the reason they were so proud when they found out I had the makings of a meister. That's a lot of power to do good with."

Cas nodded, and Dean looked at him. "What about you? Got any pictures of your family?"

Cas stared straight ahead, not looking at Dean. "No. I grew up pretty isolated. My family favors independence. We were never close."

"Sorry to hear that, man." He sounded a little apologetic, like he wished he'd never brought it up. Dean made a move to put the picture back into his old duffle bag, but Cas stood quickly. "Wait, Dean," he said, "You should hang the picture up. Either here or on your desk."

"Desk? Ha! You're assuming I'll use that thing for its intended purpose."

The weapon shrugged. "It was just a suggestion."

Dean looked around the room, and went over to his small bureau for his clothes. Over that, where he could see it every day, he tacked up the picture with some pushpins. Cas came over and gave it a once over. "It's not crooked," he offered.

"Well, that's good. Thanks for letting me hang this up," Dean looked down for the first time and realized something strange. "Cas….have you been holding a bag of frozen broccoli in your hand this whole time?"

The Angel Blade looked down at his hand, and only just realized how numb it was. "I guess I forgot I was holding it. I'll go put this away." Once Cas left the room Dean simply pinched the bridge of his nose, as though his partner's quirkiness were beginning to give him a headache. He looked back at the picture, though, and whispered "Love you guys," to it before leaving to help Castiel with the groceries.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Dean felt uncomfortable in the lecture hall, sitting at a long desk next to Cas and surrounded by other kids his age. He hadn't been in a school in…well…ever. Dean had been home-schooled by his parents. Despite their day jobs, Ellen and Bobby weren't going to let Dean's education fall to the wayside. He suddenly remembered Bobby sitting in the backseat of the Impala, coaching Dean on his times tables, while Ellen drove them to a rugaru sighting. They were determined to prepare Dean for every aspect of life, come Hell or high water.

"Dean, are you okay? You seem nervous," Cas said, narrowing his eyes at him.

"Nervous? No way. You're….nervous," Dean said, the comeback sounding lame even to himself.

Castiel cocked his head, as though trying to figure out what Dean meant exactly. He decided to go with the literal approach. "Well, yes, Dean, I am nervous. I fail to see how this is an insult."

"Just….forget it," Dean said. He looked at the students around, but none of them really drew much attention to themselves. He did, however, recognize the prankster Gabriel and his partner Kali a few rows away. Gabriel was weaving a piece of string through his fingers, and Kali was reading a book. Gabriel was still alive, but the bandage wrapped around his head was evident that he hadn't escaped her wrath unscathed. Kali's face was a little darker over her lip, but the ink mustache was essentially gone. Dean also noticed that the girl was incredibly beautiful, with big brown eyes that had a gleam to them. She looked absolutely stunning!

Little idiot gets the hottest girl I've seen at this school? What the hell! Did I do something wrong in a past life? Dean thought, still a bit sore about not getting a girl partner.

Except for them, he didn't recognize anyone. Before he could look around further, a familiar visage walked into the room. Spirit Alban came in, and the quiet hum of the classroom immediately silenced. Everyone watched him curiously, as he came to lean on the desk in front of the room. Dean assumed that everyone, just like him, was contacted by Spirit about their weapon or meister abilities.

"Good morning, everyone," Spirit said, and there was a chorus of greetings.

"I hope everyone is getting along? No homicides yet? Excellent, we're off to a good start so far! As you know, my name is Spirit Alban, although you may call me Mr. Death Scythe, as that is what I am. You are the next class of meisters and weapons, and you are very special, each in your own, individual way. You will learn to trust and depend on your partners with your life, as they will on yours. You will become the next protectors of humanity, and, if you work hard, you might even create the next Death Scythe. Welcome to your first day at the Death Weapon Meister Academy."

* * *

Many of the students in the gym had never handled a weapon before, and almost all of the weapons had never been handled as such. Most of the students were complete novices and a cacophony of swears filled the air as people dropped, tripped over, and stumbled over one another.

One pair, however, was not part of the novice crowd. In fact, Dean was across the gym in front of a row of straw dummies, the silver Angel Blade gripped loosely in his hand. He felt the weight of the weapon, which consisted of a stout handle and a long blade. Although it looked uneven in design, it was the perfect weight for stabbing and balance for throwing. The weapon had a round handle, and instead of a single blade, it was four razor-sharp blades into a cross-shape. It was probably one of the weirdest weapons Dean had seen.

Dean tossed the blade between his hands, getting used to him, and he heard Cas' voice clearly cough uncomfortably. "Dean? What are you doing?"

"Just getting used to ya, buddy," Dean said. He eyed the dummies before him, and grinned.

Suddenly, Dean ducked, as though the dummy had thrown a vicious punch. He swerved underneath, and used the blade to block an imaginary downward strike. He twisted to the side, and leapt forward, shoving the blade through the dummy's heart. He twisted the knife and jerked it out, stepping back to survey his handiwork.

Dean looked down at the blade, and saw Cas's face reflecting back at him. Though hard to tell with his usual stoic face, he seemed pleased. "You seem well-versed in hand-to-hand combat," Cas mused.

"Comes with the 9 to 5," Dean said.

There was a cough behind him, and he turned around to see the instructor, a tall man with a headband, Sid, grinning at them. "Well, well, let me guess. You're the hunter boy, Dean Winchester, right? And that's Castiel Novak, I'm assuming."

"Yes sir," they both answered at once. A flash of light and Castiel was standing next to Dean, staring at Sid intently.

Sid walked around them to look at the hole in the dummy's chest. "Not bad," he said. "You know, hunters and meisters usually don't mix. And a hunter meister? That's a new one on me. You are definitely one of the first hunters here, if not the first."

He turned back to them, and motioned towards the kids behind them who were still getting used to the whole meister/weapon thing. "You're ahead of the curve when it comes to hand-to-hand combat skills, which is why I'm excusing you from the physical training classes for the next two weeks."

"Alright!" Dean said with a fist pump. He was starting to really like this Sid guy.

"But, won't that but us behind the other students?" Cas asked, and Dean's elbow dug into his side. "Shove it," Dean whispered, but Sid laughed.

"You misunderstand me, boys," Sid said, armed crossed, a villainous glint in his eye. "For the next two weeks, instead, I'll be your mentor. I'm a three-star meister, and a knife-wielder at that. I can teach you some tricks that you'll thank me for later."

Dean wasn't so sure. "Why the sudden interest in us?"

Sid grinned. "So far, you two are the best in your class, and you haven't even finished your first day here. Instead of wasting your time, I'll get you up to speed. The faster you train, the sooner you can go into the field and start hunting on your own for kishin eggs."

Sid leaned forwards towards them. "Besides, a Hunter-turned-Meister and an Angel Blade Weapon is a duo we've never had before, and I'm curious what exactly you two are capable of. It's just the kind of man I am."

"It sounds like a great opportunity," Castiel said, giving Dean a good-natured shrug.

Dean looked at Cas, and could have sworn he looked excited at the prospect. "Well, seems I can't say no to that face." He looked at Sid and grinned. "Alright, it sounds like a plan."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Suddenly, there was an angry scream from behind them. All three turned to see most of the students were pressed against a wall, giving a wide berth to a girl holding a colorful pistol in her hands.

"A water pistol? A WATER PISTOL?! Gabriel, I demand that you take on a more dignified form this instance!"

"Ah, come on Kali, can't take a joke?" a voice from the gun said smartly.

She swung the gun around, causing students to duck and scream, afraid of being shot. She howled in anger when she tried to pull the trigger, but nothing happened. "Why aren't you working?!" she yelled, shaking the gun.

"Kali, knock that off, I'm gonna be sick!" Gabriel begged. "What are you, a moron? I'm not gonna let you shoot anyone!"

"You little wretch!" she snapped. In her anger, she threw the weapon towards the ground, where it bounced hard once and then transformed back into Gabriel, lying on the ground. He was pale, and looking a little green.

"Geez, Kali, what the hell is the matter with you?" he asked, holding his head, hissing in pain.

"First, you insult me by turning into a children's toy, and expect me to wield you like a proper weapon. Then, you refuse to follow my orders and not work properly? Oh, and let us not forget the ink incident!" She was snarling now, and she looked like she was going to strangle him right then and there. "You're a disgrace, and I will have nothing to do with you!"

"Right back at cha, ya crazy bitch!" Gabriel growled back.

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

Kali whipped around and ran from the gym, while Gabriel fell back against the floor, breathing heavily, trying not the vomit everywhere.

The other students, who had been stunned into silence, now started to murmur amongst themselves. Sid shook his head as he came forward, helping the weapon up from the floor.

"Class is dismissed," he said, holding Gabriel steady. The weapon looked angrily at him. "Why didn't you stop her?" he asked.

"Meisters and weapons have to learn to deal with each other," the teacher said. "If she tried to kill you, I would've stepped in."

"She's crazy," Gabriel muttered.

"It happens from time to time," Sid confirmed.

After Sid escorted Gabriel to the nurse's office, Dean looked at Castiel, and suddenly gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Well, Cas, that certainly makes me glad that you're my partner now," he said.

A small grin grew across Cas's face. "That holds true for me as well, Dean."

Something caught Dean's eye, and he watched the other students leave the gym, chatting amongst themselves. There was a guy amongst them, about Dean's height with brown hair and wearing a similar long-sleeve shirt like his. The guy reading a book as he walked, and was flanked by two girls with long black hair and leather jackets, both looking ready to kick someone's ass.

That guy looks familiar….Dean thought to himself. Out loud, though, he whistled. "The bookworm gets two hot girls?! What the hell?"

Cas gave him a light punch on the shoulder. "What happened to that whole 'glad you're my partner' thing?"

Dean chuckled. "Hey, go easy man, you might bruise something. By the way, that guy with the two scary-looking babes, do you know him?"

"No, Dean. Why?"

"I just….I dunno, man, I feel like I recognize him from somewhere…."

Cas arched an eyebrow. "If you think you've seen him before, why'd you ask me about it?"

Dean rolled his eyes. "Don't be a smartass, Cas. Come on, let's go."

Spirit massaged his forehead, mulling over Sid's story. "Is the boy okay?" he asked.

"Gabriel's fine, for now. But I haven't seen a blow up like that in years, not on the first day, anyways. It usually takes a while for people to get that angry with each other."

"Yes, usually that's the case. However, didn't you say that he was a squirt gun?" Spirit asked.

"Yeah. Seems like our weapon has a trickster streak," Sid replied.

"And I'm going to assume that his partner is not the prank-appreciating type. Wonderful."

"It's curious, though. It's rare for two people to be a compatible weapon and meister pair, but to be at each other's throats…that's a new one on me," Sid chuckled. He clapped Spirit on the shoulder. "I gotta get back to my students, but since you're in charge of the new kids, now it's on you."

"Fine, fine. I'll go talk to them. Try to smooth things over. If I can't, then, I guess I'll send them to Lord Death. Maybe he can knock some sense into them. Literally." Spirit was not looking forward to it.

The situation was awkward, to say the least. Gabriel and Kali sat on the old couch in their small apartment, each sitting on one end, pointedly not looking at each other. Spirit sat in front of them in a chair, hands clasped in his lap.

"Okay, you two. What's the problem?"

"She started it-!"

"He started it-!"

They both replied at once. They looked at each other and then angrily turned away.

"Well, it's obvious that you're soul compatible," Spirit muttered to himself. God, it feels like I'm back in couples counseling, Spirit thought. Aloud he said "So, let's try this again. What's the problem?"

"He's a jerk who belittles me and tarnishes my good name."

"She's a crazy chick who can't take a joke."

Kali whipped around to face Gabriel, arms crossed in anger. "Why you little-! I am Kali Shivan, of the Shivan meister dynasty, and you will show me respect! I was willing to work together, but you threw that option away when you drew on my face!"

Spirit looked at Gabriel. "Is that true?"

"Well….it was pretty funny at the time," the boy admitted. Both Kali and Spirit gave him an incredulous look. He threw is hands up. "Look, it was just a joke, an ice-breaker! It wasn't a declaration of war. You seemed a bit like a stick in the mud, so I was just trying to get you to loosen up. Instead I get a book upside my head." At this point he touched the headband.

"That ink took me hours to wash off! And today, our first day of class, you trick me again! You take on the form of a child's toy, and refuse to work!"

"You might have shot someone; I was just keeping everyone safe!"

"And the water gun form?"

"Just the way it goes," Gabriel said with a shrug. "Instead of accepting it, accepting me, you try to make me vomit before the whole class!"

"Alright, that's enough," Spirit said, cutting off Kali's retort. The two teenagers gave him a dirty look, as though they did not appreciate his interrupting their argument.

"We don't have time for this. Look, the fact that you, Kali, can wield you, Gabriel, means that you are compatible with each other. Soul compatibility is not something that is that easy to find naturally, and almost impossible to cultivate. If you two want to split, that's on you, but finding another compatible partner in a reasonable amount of time might be next to impossible. Since it sounds like you've just gotten off to a bad start, here's what we're going to do. First of all, you two are going to apologize to each other."

He held up a silencing hand. "Yes, both of you are in fault. Gabriel, you have terrible taste in pranks, and Kali, you're working with a hot temper. However, I've seen partners work together on less. So, you're going to apologize. Go on."

After an awkward moment, Gabriel turned to face Kali, but she refused to turn towards him. Gabriel rolled his eyes at this. "Look Kali, I'm sorry. I suppose I shouldn't have pranked you. I just meant it in good fun. Again, I'm sorry."

Both Spirit and Gabriel watched her curiously. She seemed conflicted; she kept glancing quickly at Gabriel, but couldn't seem to bring herself to actually face him. "I didn't mean to hit you with that book," she said. "Your hard head almost broke the spine, and that was a collector's edition."

"I'm not exactly sure. Was that an apology?" Gabriel hissed to Spirit. The Death Scythe shrugged. "Baby steps, Gabriel. It's good enough for me." He looked down at the wristwatch, then stood up in surprise. "Oh! It's almost happy hour at Chupa-Cabra's! I've gotta go. Gorgeous ladies won't wait all night!" The Death Scythe walked towards the door to leave, but he turned around one last time. "And now, you two are going to start over."

"Start over?" Gabriel asked.

"Yes. As of right now, you've just met. Kali Shivan, meister, meet your weapon partner, Gabriel Arc' Angle. And this time, you two start off on the right foot. Good luck!" With that, Spirit left them alone, humming a merry toon to himself as he went.

"Did he just…leave?" Kali said, then scoffed. "I can't believe this."

"Well, me neither. By the way, my name's Gabriel, what's yours?" As he spoke, he held out his hand for a handshake.

Kali looked at him and then rolled her eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Meeting you for the first time."

"You've got to be joking. You're actually doing that?"

"Well, when the Grim Reaper's personal Weapon gives you an order, it's probably in everyone's best interest that you follow it." Gabriel kept holding his hand out. "And your name is…?"

Kali looked at him, a boy of 16 who was, adorably, a few inches shorter than her. He gave her his most winning smile, and winked at her. Finally, finally, she uncrossed her arms and shook his hand. "Kali Shivan." A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "No more pranks, alright?"

Gabriel shrugged. "I can't deny you the best part of my personality, but I can make sure you get front row seats to the show instead. Fair?"

There was a mischievous glint in his eyes, and it made Kali's blood run warm. "Fair."


	7. Chapter 7

Dean sat on the couch, head laying back against the couch, feeling the aches in his muscles go all the way to the bone. "God, Sid was not kidding when it said it was going to be a tough regimen."

Castiel walked in from the kitchen and tossed a bag of ice towards the exhausted hunter. It hit him in the chest, and he "oomphed!" at the cold, hard impact. "Thanks…I think," Dean grumped. He put it against his forehead, which was swelling up nicely over his left eye.

Castiel flopped down next to him, his usual buttoned-down shirt pulled open and exposing his shoulder, where he placed an ice-pack. "You're welcome."

The two guys sat on the couch, leaning back and simply letting their weary bodies rest. It had been a few days now, and Sid's regimen had gone from basic cardio and strength training to making Dean and Castiel spar. The last part had been confusing.

"Why are you making us fight each other? I though the whole part was so we'd kick other monsters butts together," Dean had said to Sid when he told them to spar.

The teacher simply said "You can't work together properly until you know each other's strengths and weaknesses. Now, fight!"

He grimaced in pain. "Yeah, hey Cas, next time don't pull your punches or anything. I might think you're going soft on me," Dean said sarcastically.

Cas looked him. "I'll bear that in mind next time. I didn't realize you were a fan of broken ribs."

Dean slowly looked at him, a wide-eyed look on his face. "Dude…was that sarcasm?"

Castiel rolled his eyes. "It does happen on occasion."

"Yeah, so does earthquakes and tsunamis," Dean said. He started to chuckle, but ended up hissing in pain instead. "Anyways, the real question is, how does a scrawny guy like yourself almost break my face with one hit?"

"Training was all I did at the sanctuary. It's something I've been doing all my life. Guess I've developed a bit of a right hook."

"'Sanctuary?' Don't tell me your some sort of kung-fu shaolin monk," Dean joked, smiling.

"We aren't monks. We just train in isolation," Cas said, staring off into the distance.

Dean took that to mean the conversation was over. He closed his eye again, and was resting, when Cas suddenly smacked his shoulder. He jerked awake, looked at Cas, then down at his shoulder. "Cas. Ow!"

"There's a homework assignment due tomorrow, and the book you need is in the library," Cas said matter-of-factly.

Dean gave his partner the most incredulous glare he could manage. "The library, Cas? Seriously? Now? You've gotta be kidding me! Look, I'm tired, I'm sore, and I don't wanna go at this time of night. Can't you just help me out on it tonight, and I'll do my own from then on I promise."

Castiel turned towards him, those intense blue eyes staring right through him. Luckily, Dean was already starting to get used to Cas's weird looks. "Please, Cas?" he asked.

Cas shook his head gravely. "If you don't do your own work, you won't learn anything, Dean."

"Yeah, thanks Mom, anything else?" Dean grumbled. "Whatever. Let's just go before I change my mind."

Bruised and sore, both boys left the apartment and made their ways towards the Academy Library at a slow and steady pace. The trip had been silent until about halfway, when Dean suddenly looked at Cas keeping stride next to him. "By the way, Cas. How come I never see you doing homework? I mean ever. You never crack a book yet you've got some of the highest grades in the class. What gives?"

"I do my work at night," Cas simply said.

"Bull! I never see you do anything school-related at night."

"I stay up late. After you go to sleep, I do what I need to do, when I won't get distracted."

"Wait. You go to sleep after me, and are almost always awake before me…how much do you sleep?"

"4 hours a night, give or take," Castiel said nonchalantly.

Dean scoffed. "Dude, you're a freak," he said, though there was good-humor behind it.

They continued in silence into the library, and made sure not to disturb anyone while weaving in and out of bookcases. After several minutes of searching one particular shelf in general with no avail, Dean smacked it loudly in frustration. A loud chorus of "shhhh!"s came from some of the tables near them.

"We trudged all the way out here and it's not even here!" Dean whispered the accusation at Castiel.

The weapon shrugged. "I don't have book radar, Dean. Let's just go see if someone's checked it out."

"Fine. If it's not there then I'm saying screw it to this homework. Man, I'm tired, sore, and hungry. And don't give me that look, Cas, skipping out on one assignment won't be the end of the world, I promise."

Cas gave him a look like he wasn't quite sure he believed that last part, but he followed Dean out of the book stacks anyways. As they walked past a table with books in the middle, Cas recognized the book Dean needed sitting on top of the stack. He grabbed Dean's shoulder, halting him mid-stride. "There it is," Cas said.

The guy from gym class was at that particular table, along with the two dark-haired girls. Though the guy was reading a book, the two girls were reading glossy-covered magazines.

"I feel like we're about to break into Font Knox," Dean whispered.

"Don't be so overdramatic," Cas said, although he didn't sound so confident. "Maybe just ask politely to borrow it for a few minutes?"

Dean sighed. "This is too much effort for a damn homework assignment."

Taking a breath, he walked up to the table and let out a tiny cough to get the girls' attention. The dark-haired beauty closest to him looked up at him from her magazine. Dean suddenly gave her a brilliant smile. "Uh, hi there. Well, this is incredibly awkward. See, it seems I lost my library card; do you mind if I check you out instead?"

Her mouth opened slightly, she was clearly shocked at the use of the terribly cheesy pick-up line. Though the guy never reacted, the other girl scoffed quietly to herself. Dean had never really talked to a girl his age before, and as he stood there, shifting his weight from one leg to another with nervousness.

Suddenly, the smile dropped from his face as he realized what he said. "Oh, crap, I'm sorry. I meant, uh, not you per say, I meant out the uh, check out the-"

She huffed at him in annoyance. What do you want?" she asked a little hotly.

Well, need to work on that delivery next time. God, next time need to not mix up pick-ups lines with normal conversation. Taking a deep breath, he let out an awkward chuckle. Next, Dean decided to try out his charm. "Well, beautiful, I had a quick question for you. That book right there, is there any way I can borrow it for a couple minutes? I'll give it right back, promise," he said with his most winning smile.

The girl looked at up him, and said smiled evilly. "Sorry, but no can do."

Dean looked from the book on the table (not being read by anyone) to her. "But…you're not even using it now."

"I plan on using it momentarily," she said with a mischievous grin. She was clearly getting back at him for the terrible line.

"I—I just—Lady, please? I'm tired and hungry and just want to borrow it for 5 minutes then you can have it back." Dean's voice went from charming to worn, the aches from the day coming back in force.

Before she could retort again, the boy looked up from his book. He had chin-length brown hair, a pointed nose, and hazel eyes. "Ruby, knock it off," the boy said. He grabbed the book in question and stood up before walking over and handing it to Dean.

"Don't let the snarky attitude fool you, she's actually not that bad," he said with an apologetic smile. Ruby huffed but didn't speak.

"It's fine. Look, I really appreciate this, um…."

"Sam," the boy said, holding out a hand.

"Dean," they shook hands.

"Well, Dean, this is Ruby, and Meg, my somewhat thorny partners," Sam said with a grin.

Ruby waved in annoyance, while Meg, the other slightly heavier vixen, actually winked at him. "Charmed, I assure you," she said slowly, her voice low and had a hint of a southern drawl to it.

"Right back at cha, sister. This is my partner, Castiel."

Dean was expecting him to simply nod, or give them one of his intense squints; instead, Cas actually stepped forward and held out his hand to shake theirs. Sam took it, but the girls didn't make a move towards him, leaving him waiting awkwardly.

Ruby actually crossed her arms while looking at his hand. "Look. I'm sure you're a great guy and all, I just don't want my hand burned off," Ruby said. "You understand."

Cas pulled it back and even though they couldn't read his seemingly stoic expression, Dean could tell Cas was hurt.

"Ruby, that was uncalled for," Sam admonished, his cheeks turning red in embarrassment.

"I never did that on purpose," Cas said quietly, trying to explain.

"It's nothing personal there, Clarence. Angel Blades and Demon Blades just don't get along," Meg explained, sounding more apologetic than her partner.

"But…my name is Castiel," he said, sounding horribly confused.

"Okay, okay, knock it off," Dean said, cutting everyone off. "You aren't Bloods and Crips; knock off the gang crap. We're all weapons and meisters, here, right? This means we're all on the same side against kishins and monsters. Which means our problems are not with each other."

Dean pointedly looked at Ruby as he said this last sentence, and she ended up turning away from his piercing gaze. Must be picking up the technique for the 'ultimate intense stare' from Cas, he thought to himself.

Dean smacked Sam's shoulder, grinning as he did so to show he held no hard feelings towards the boy. "Partners, man. They can be a pain, I know," he said cheerfully. "Anyways, thanks again for the book. And hey, maybe we'll catch each other around."

Sam nodded, and while Meg waved at them, Ruby ignored them. Dean and Cas left the library, book tucked inside Dean's jacket. "Man, who would've thought a trip to the library would be so exciting," Dean said, stretching his arms over his head as they walked.

Castiel, quiet for several minutes, now spoke. "What exactly did you mean by knowing partners can be a pain?" he asked, both an accusing and curious tone under his gruff voice.

"Nothing, really," Dean said. "I was just saying that to try and smooth everything out."

"So I'm not a pain?"

"Keep bringing it up and I will change my mind on that."

Despite the gruff response, the corners of the weapon's mouth turned up into a grin. _You're not so bad yourself._


	8. Chapter 8

"No, no, no!" Sid muttered, rubbing his temples in frustration. "Are you purposefully not listening to me?"

Dean huffed angrily, tightening his grip around the handle of the Angel Blade. He kept his stance, legs wide and blade ready to jab into anything that tried to attack him. Sid groaned like he was getting an enormous migraine.

"_What_, Sid? What do you want?" Dean snapped. "I'm holding the blade like you asked!"

_If you were, I wouldn't be getting irritated with you!_ Sid thought. "Look, your stance is fine, your posture is fine. It's not your body that's the problem," he said. He tapped his temple. "It's your brain. You need to stop thinking and let the channel of energy between you and Castiel open up all the way."

"What are you talking about? Stop speaking in riddles and tell it to me straight!" Dean said angrily. It was very tempting to stab the teacher in the kidney, but he suspected that might get him expelled. _It might be totally worth it, though._

Sid came in close, leaning down a bit so he could talk to Dean face to face. "It means," he stated, flicking Dean's forehead hard, "that you need to stop thinking like a _hunter_, and start thinking like a _meister_."

He stood up and clasped his hands around his back. He started circling Dean in a predatory way. Dean became tense, wary that Sid was going to try and pull a fast one on him the second he let down his guard.

"What are you holding?" Sid asked.

"An Angel Blade," Dean said.

Sid reached out and smacked him, hard, on the back of his head. "No, you're holding your partner, Castiel, who happens to be an Angel Blade weapon. That's your major problem right now, Dean. You've been trained to use weapons as just things, a mean to an end. The problem is you aren't using your partner to the extent of his abilities."

"What are you going on about, now?" Dean asked. Sid just quietly chuckled behind his back. "I was expecting a lot more from you, Dean. I thought a hunter would get it. Maybe you're just not as smart as I expected you to be."

"What the hell are you-" Dean said, and he turned just in time to get a right hook to the face.

"_Dean!"_ Cas's voice called, reminding him that the weapon in his hand was actually a person.

Dean stumbled and swore, feeling the cut open over his eye, and a few drops of blood fall to his cheek. "What the hell, Sid?!" he spat.

Instead of responding, Sid lunged forward, another fist on its way to Dean's face. This time Dean ducked the blow and dodged to the side. He landed a hard punch into Sid's ribs, but the teacher ignored the blow. Sid grabbed Dean's shirt and shoved him, hard, backwards about 20 feet, where he fell onto his side. Cas slipped from Dean's grasp and lay a few feet away, his face peering out. "Get up, Dean!" he said urgently.

"Meisters and Weapons have to have a deep trust in order to work as a partnership. After all, a weapon is useless without a meister, and generally vice versa. In battle, both must have each other's back in order for either to come back alive," Sid said, watching Dean get back to his feet.

The hunter cracked his neck and kneeled down to pick up his partner, never taking his eyes off the traitorous teacher. Something changed in his mind's eye, however. Instead of grabbing the blade like it was a weapon his dad found or whipped up over a boring weekend, Dean pictured that he was grasping Castiel's hand in a handshake as he grabbed the weapon. A strange tingle ran up his arm, making him jolt.

A sensation that felt like a cross between a shiver of fear and the pain of numb nerves waking up, the jolt was uncomfortable, but passed quickly.

"What the hell?" he muttered, mostly to himself.

Sid's eyes narrowed slightly, seeing the shudder run through the young man.

Sid bounded forward so fast Dean almost didn't see him move. Sid started throwing fast punches, and Dean was forced backwards as he tried to dodge the blows. He dodged left and right before rolling to the side, away from Sid's long arms. He landed on his feet and got taken out by the backhand across the face. Sid was fast, too fast, for Dean to outrun long term.

He landed a few feet away on his back, half of his face numb from the hit. "Stop it, Sid!" he said, scuttled backwards when Sid started coming for him again.

Sid did pause for a moment. "A weapon is not just a gun, or a scythe, or a knife. It's also a human consciousness. A human being that has the ability to store and deliver energy when needed, in fact. Like a living battery, you could say."

_Dean!_ Cas said again, but this time the voice was echoing around inside Dean's head. The hunter did not even have time to question how this was happening; his attention was on the murderous teacher inbound.

_There's no way I'm gonna let some reject teacher off me! Dammit, he's too fast, I can't get a decent hit on him, though_, Dean thought, trying to figure out a plan before Sid finished him off.

_Dean! Stop thinking and let me help you,_ Cas said.

_Help me? How would you-? _

_Stop thinking!_ Castiel ordered, and another one of those weird jolts went through Dean, except this one was packing a lot more punch. Dean almost yelped in pain as the wave ran through his body. Once the jolt wore off, though, he felt energized, alive. Suddenly Sid, who had seemed to tower over Dean and was faster than could be comprehended, suddenly wasn't so tall, wasn't so fast.

Sid leapt forward once again, fist flying right towards Dean's face. Dean jerked his head to the side just in time for the fist to smash into the ground instead. Dean drove the blunt end of the blade into Sid's stomach, driving him backwards and knocking the wind from him. Without a second's pause, Dean's leg shot out and caught Sid behind the knee, bringing him crumbling to the ground. The impact onto his back knocked the wind from him. As he took a breath of air, something cold pressed against the side of his neck. Dean was suddenly looming over him, barely pressing the blade into his jugular.

Sweat matted his hair, and he was only barely out of breathe. Several silent seconds passed as Dean assessed whether the teacher was going to try and lunge for him again. Once it was obvious Sid had no intention of that—he actually smiled instead—Dean leaned back, lifting the blade from Sid's neck. Sid actually coughed a few times. The two hit combo from the front and the back and made it suddenly very hard to breath.

As he perched himself on his elbows, watched Dean look at the blade in slight confusion, but then clarity washed over him. "I couldn't beat him on my own, so you gave me a boost," he said to the blade.

"Seemed like a good idea at the time," Cas's voice said, as though it wasn't a big deal.

Dean looked up at Sid, who was already breathing normally once more. "That's what you meant, right? About using my partner's abilities?"

"Kid, we're just _barely_ scratching the surface of what a properly trained weapon and meister pair can do. A weapon can share energy with its meister, making them faster, stronger, tougher, smarter, and that much more dangerous in a fight. It's a matter of survival, after all. Without a meister a weapon is pretty useless, so they have a tendency to boost their meister's fighting abilities to handle any threat that comes at them. A good strategy, considering we do fight human-killing monsters for a living."

"I could have killed you, or you me!" Dean said angrily.

Sid just laughed at him. "You, kill me? Give yourself a few years, Dean. And I wouldn't have injured you that badly. We still have a week of training to get through, at the bare minimum. See, you struck me as the kind of student that needs to see something in front of them in order to get the gears in your head moving. So, a little hands-on training seemed like the best idea at the time. That's just the kind of man I am," Sid said, a grin growing on his face.

Sid got to his feet and stretched out his back, a sickening crack coming from it. "However, I think that's enough training for today."

As Dean and Castiel walked out of the gym, Sid absent-mindedly rubbed his stomach where Dean had hit him. He lifted up his shirt to see imprinted on his defined abs the butt of the blade.

"Those two caught on pretty fast. I think Lord Death might like to meet them sooner rather than later."

* * *

After the training session with Sid, both boys had no more class for the rest of the day. As they made their way along the worn brick paths, Dean was humming cheerfully to himself. Cas kept pace with the happy guy, finding his good mood contagious. He even started to smile. Even with the swelling cut above his eye and dried blood smeared on half his face, Dean couldn't wipe the glowing grin from his face.

"Why are you so happy?" Cas asked as he tilted his head to the side, puzzled. "Half of your face is swelling and covered in blood."

Dean's grin never faltered as he turned to his partner. He threw is arms up towards the sky, which was a beautiful blue with a few wispy white clouds, the sun hanging overhead. It was a warm day, not hot or cold, with a cooling breeze playing with Dean's open over-shirt. "Dude, it's a perfect day! The weather is perfect, and we kicked Sid's ass at his own game!" He threw an arm around Cas's shoulders and laughed. "Dude, we're _awesome_!"

"Are you…inebriated?" Cas asked. Dean shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't think so, but that little zap you gave me must still be doing something. I feel energized, ready to take on the world. Even a pissed-off Satanist ghost couldn't trip me up!" To emphasize the point, he jumped up and clicked his heels mid-air. Suddenly he started running, yelling over his shoulder "Race you home!" before leaving Cas in the dust. Even with his heavy boots, Dean was incredibly fast. It took Castiel everything to keep up with Dean the whole way back, but it felt good to run without a care in the world.

Dean and Cas hit the apartment door at the same time, almost knocking the thing down as they tumbled inside. Dean landed on his back, laughing between breathes. Even Cas, who had managed to keep upright, was laughing. It was a pretty odd sound coming from such a straight-laced guy, like a rumble of thunder off in the distance.

"Get up, you idiot," Cas tried to say sternly, but there was affection under the gruff. He helped Dean to his feet, who was still grinning like a goof. Castiel pushed him towards the bathroom, pointing towards the cut on Dean's head. "You should go clean up and bandage that."

Dean, bloody and with a swollen knot on his head, said with a laugh "Okay, _Mom_," before ambling off to the bathroom. Cas heard the water in the sink run for several minutes, and even a few colorful swears from Dean (turned out Cas's 'zap' didn't make him numb to pain for long). He sat on the couch, resting his eyes, when he heard Dean announce "Gonna grab a new shirt," and head into the bedroom.

Several minutes later, Cas opened his eyes to see Dean still hadn't returned. Vaguely concerned, the weapon slowly wandered into their shared room, only to see Dean toppled over on his bunk, snoring softly, naked from the waist up.

He must have sat down to change and just passed out, Castiel realized, and shook his head. Fearing that he might get a cold, Cas snuck over and grabbed the comforter from his bunk to throw over Dean's body, but paused for a moment. Castiel's eyes wandered over Dean's well-defined muscles and abs. His skin was mostly smooth and slightly tanned, except for a few small scars—souvenirs from a rough past.

When he realized he was staring, he averted his eyes to the ceiling and quickly tossed the blanket on his partner. The boy snuggled into it and sighed. "Thanks," Dean muttered, before turning over and started to snore again.


	9. Chapter 9

A couple hours later Dean awoke with a huge yawn, feeling exhausted but content. He lay on the bed with his hands behind his head, letting himself blink the sleep from his eyes. Looking down, he realized that he was 1) completely shirtless and 2) covered in a blanket that wasn't his. _Wow, I passed out while changing my shirt? Well, at least he had the sense to cover me up for modesty's sake._

Dean was feeling like his usual self again; the happy-go-lucky attitude from earlier had faded away, so he got up (but was already missing the warmth of the bed) and grabbed a clean shirt. The mirror in the bathroom revealed that the swelling had gone down around his forehead, though the bandage hid the worst of the cut. His stomach rumbled loudly and he realized he was famished.

He wandered into the living room and found Cas sitting on the couch with a book in his lap, his head on his hand. It took a second to realize Cas's eyes were closed and his was breathing peacefully. Dean actually paused, and watched in an almost hypnotized state. Despite living with Castiel for a few weeks now, he'd never actually seen the other boy sleeping. It was disconcerting, to say the least.

"Aw, Robocop's tuckered himself out," Dean whispered to himself with a snicker. He started tiptoeing through the room, towards the door. There was no food in the apartment, so he was going to have to go and get some, but he didn't want to wake Castiel. He had almost made it to the door, only a foot away with his hand halfway to the doorknob even, when his stomach betrayed him with the loudest roar he'd ever heard.

_Son of a bitch!_ He thought to himself as he winced, hoping Cas had slept through the racket. Looking over, he found Cas looking at him, eyes only half open.

"What are you doing?" Castiel asked, and Dean sighed.

"Trying to be quiet," Dean said in defeat.

"Well, you're terrible at it," the weapon said as he closed to book to stretch.

"Hey, just finish your nap, Sleepin' Beauty. Just gonna get some food, be back in a bit."

Cas shook his head adamantly. He stood while covering his mouth, a large yawn escaping him. His short, dark-brown hair, usually a little ruffled, was even more a wild mess. His buttoned shirt was also a bit wrinkled from the jousting earlier, and the blue tie he normally worn was missing. Cas always took it off before physical training.

"Need sustenance," Cas said, and without another word he followed his roommate to the school cafeteria, about half a mile away.

It was a little after the dinner rush so they found an empty booth quickly. Dean, with his cheeseburger and fries, shook his head sadly when Cas sat down with a salad, vegetarian lasagna, and several pieces of fruit. "More rabbit food? Man, you're never gonna get big muscles eating that stuff."

He held up his burger to make his point. "This is man's food."

"That's a heart attack on a bun. I've been eating this way all my life, and my muscles have grown to an acceptable size."

"Yeah, well….mine tastes better," Dean said.

"To each his own," Cas simply said.

After a few moments of silent eating, Dean suddenly grinned. "Well, if it isn't our favorite trio."

Castiel looked back to see Sam and his two partners across the room, looking for a place to sit.

"Hey, bookworm and company!" Dean called out cheerfully. Sam looked over, startled. Ruby rolled her eyes and leaned towards Meg, some comment making her chuckle.

Sam's hesitation caused Dean to wave his arm at them, thinking they hadn't seen him. When Sam continued to stand awkwardly, Dean called out "Hey, we don't bite I promise!"

Finally, though Ruby looked less than pleased, Sam started towards their booth.

Castiel turned back to Dean. "I thought you didn't like Ruby?"

Dean winked. "What can I say, I'm a sucker for brunettes with attitude."

As they walked up, Dean smacked Cas's shoulder. "Make room, you heathen!" he said with a grin. His grin faltered, however, when both girls sat next to Cas instead of next to him. Taking it in stride, he hid his pout by moving over. "Take a seat, Sammy," Dean said good-naturedly.

"Um thanks. And it's just Sam," he said, sitting next to Dean.

"Isn't that what I said?" he asked, genuinely puzzled.

Sam sighed. "Whatever," he mumbled under his breathe.

The table was quiet for a few moments, everyone hiding the awkward silence by eating. Eventually, Dean decided to break the ice, the only way he knew how. He finished his burger, and narrowed his eyes at the girls while putting on his most winning smile.

"You know, I kept getting this weird feeling of déjà vu whenever I saw you girls, but I think I just figured it out. See, I saw these two comets streak across the night sky as I drove to the academy. I have a 1969 Chevelle, see. And now I get it; you two are the angels that fell from heaven that night, aren't you?" he asked sincerely. The delivery was so flawless it had taken the others a few seconds to work out what he said.

Castiel's eyes widened and he leaned forward, looking at Meg and Ruby. "You two are…angels?" he asked in confusion.

Meg looked at Ruby, eyes wide in shock. "Ruby! Why didn't you tell me we were angels?!"

Ruby returned her fork to her plate. "I'm sorry Meg…"she said, body shaking with laughter. "I thought you knew?...Hahaha!"

"So, Dean, how long have you been working on that little gem of yours?" Meg asked.

"Ever since I met you," Dean admitted with a playful wink.

Sam glared at Dean. "Did you call me over here just so you could hit on my partners?"

Dean smirked and shrugged. "It was an added benefit of your company," he said.

Everyone got a decent laugh from the exchange, though Cas still looked confused. Meg took pity on him and explained. "It's called a pick-up line, Castiel. Guys usually use them to win over a girl's affection, but it usually just makes them look like an ass," she said, looking Dean right in the eyes as she said so, though the crinkles around her eyes ruined any seriousness she tried to convey. "Besides, Dean," she said a little louder, "don't you think that line would be more appropriate for the 'Angel' you already have?"

"Ooooh," said Ruby and Sam together, watching the back and forth intensify with delight.

Dean blushed fiercely, but he tried to brush it off. "I can assure you, I don't swing that way," Dean affirmed.

Meg nodded. "Well, if you keep it up with lines like that, you won't be swinging any way."

"And big sister wins again!" Ruby said, sticking her tongue out at Dean.

"Alright, alright, save it," Sam said, though he was still grinning ear to ear.

Dean hated being the butt of any jokes, but he put on a brave face so they wouldn't think he couldn't take a little teasing.

"So," he said, eager to change the subject. "How's been going on in gym class?"

Sam looked at him curiously. "Yeah, that's right, you haven't been there since the first day of class, right?"

"Skipping physical training class at a school for hunting monsters? That sounds like a surefire way to get your dumbass killed," Ruby said.

"We haven't been skipping class. We got moved up to the big leagues," Dean said proudly. "Sid's been training us himself."

"Remedial classes starting the first day? It takes a special kind of idiot to pull that off," Meg said.

Castiel spoke up before Dean could respond. "Both Dean and I have previous hand-to-hand combat training. Sid decided to train us himself so we could go into the field faster."

"What sort of training do you have at 16?" Sam asked curiously.

"He's a warrior monk, and I'm a hunter," Dean said, popping a fry into his mouth.

All eyes looked at Cas. The weapon squirmed uncomfortably under their gaze. "I'm not a monk," he simply stated.

"So, how exactly does shooting Bambi give you combat training?" Ruby asked snidely.

"What? No, not that kind of hunter. A _Hunter_. Someone who kills monsters the good, old-fashioned way; with iron, salt, and silver."

Sam chocked on his sip of water. After a few coughs to clear his throat, he gave Dean a surprised look. "You mean…you're an _actual_ monster hunter?"

"Yep. Raised in the life for the past twelve years," he said with a grin. He lifted up the left sleeve of his t-shirt, revealing a shiny patch of skin, a healed burn. "Acid from a Death Worm, two years ago. Nasty worms that live in deserts. They can kill by electrocution or spitting acid, luckily it only grazed me or I'd be missing the whole arm."

"Holy crap," Sam said. Even Meg and Ruby looked impressed. Castiel worked vaguely worried. "Does that hurt?" he asked with concern in his voice.

"Nah," Dean said with a shrug. "Like I said, I got lucky."

"This is pretty incredible," Sam said excitedly. "I mean, I've read about Hunters and stuff, but to actually meet one, this is too cool."

"Just calm down, Poindexter, or I might think you're coming onto me," Dean grinned.

"I promise, Dean, not everyone is throwing themselves at you," Meg said in a conspirator's whisper.

"Haha," he said, his grin disappearing.

Everyone finished their meals, the feeling around the table much more relaxed that when they started. "Well, we gotta get going," Sam said after a few moments. "Homework and stuff."

"Don't hurt that brain of yours with all that responsibility," Dean said with a grin. Sam scoffed at him. "Yeah, uh, I'll keep that in mind."

"Hey," Dean said, causing them to turn towards him. "Same time, same place tomorrow?" Dean asked, hopefully. Ruby looked at Sam and shrugged. Sam nodded after a moment, "Sure."

Meg gave Dean a calculating look. "Are you going to have another pick-up line to try on us?"

Dean looked up, thinking. "It might not be as polished as that gem earlier, but I think I can whip up a little something."

"Then count me in," Meg said. She pointedly winked at Castiel, though. "See you tomorrow, Castiel," she said with a smile. Castiel gave her an unsure wave back. Dean didn't even bother to hide the glare he shot Cas's way.

* * *

"Dude, don't you dare start hittin' on my ladies!" Dean hissed angrily at Cas the second the others had left the room.

Castiel tiled his head while giving Dean an intense stare. "I never lifted a hand towards them," he said, eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Don't act coy. I saw them first!"

"They aren't commodities to be possessed, Dean. They're people."

Dean threw up his hands in frustration. "That's not what I—dammit, Cas, stop changing the subject!" he said, grabbing his empty plates and leaving the table, Castiel following behind, still confused.

"Now, what am I gonna do? I know she doesn't actually care what I say, she'll make fun of me, but maybe if I play along, she'll give me her number…." Dean muttered to himself as they left the cafeteria.

"Whose number are you after?"

"Well, Meg's preferably. That low drawl, ho boy," he said.

"Well, why don't you just ask her for it? Why use pick-up lines?"

Dean stopped walking down the sidewalk, and put his hand on Cas's shoulder to stop him. "Because, Cas, that's not how that works! If I just ask her outright, it'll be more likely she'll just say no and I'll never get another chance. If I play along, pretend her jabs don't bother me, she'll eventually get won over by my charming personality."

Castiel processed this for a moment. "Why not show her the inventions you make when you should be working on homework? Those are accurate indications of intelligence and technical prowess."

Dean actually blushed at Castiel's compliments, though he covered it with an awkward chuckle. "Cas, thanks for the awesome self-esteem boost, but I'm pretty sure my reverse-engineering an EMF reader from an old Walkman isn't exactly a real draw for the ladies."

Castiel simply shook his head at Dean, and actually started walking first. "There are just some things I'll never understand," he said simply as he walked away.

* * *

"Hey Sam, were you serious about hanging out with those dweebs again tomorrow?" Ruby asked loudly from her and Meg's room. The girls had finished getting ready for bed, wearing matching t-shirts and boy shorts for pajamas.

Sam poked his head into the doorway to their bedroom, a toothbrush hanging from his mouth. "That a problem?" he mumbled around the foam and bristles.

"Ruby's just jealous because Dean wasn't throwing himself at her during dinner," Meg teased.

"Shut up, that jock isn't my type," Ruby said with a slight shudder. "Does he only talk in mixed-up pick-up lines?"

Sam rolled his eyes and returned to the bathroom to spit.

"Ah, so you're into the socially awkward one," Meg said with a cheeky grin.

"Strike two. Neither one of those jerks is anywhere near my radar."

"Hey Sam," Meg called out, a mischievous look on her face. She winked at Ruby. "If you had to choose, would you go out with socially awkward Castiel or badass-wannabe Dean?"

There was a sputtering, choking noise from the bathroom, and the girls began madly cackling.

"Choose…? What the hell—why in the—that's gross, you two are ridiculous!" Sam poked his head back in, sans toothbrush, his face scrunched up in an angry bout. "What is it with you two and asking me awkward crap like that?"

"Good way to pass the time," Meg said evilly.

"Well, knock it off! I'm going to bed and am pretending this conversation never happened," Sam said, disappearing into the other bedroom and closing the door.

"Good night, Sammy!" both girls called out in tandem.

"It's Sam, dammit!" came the muffled reply.

"Time for bed, sis," Ruby said, tumbling onto the bottom bunk, black hair everywhere.

Meg turned out the light and climbed up into her bed. As she lay on her back, hands behind her head, eyes staring forward but not actually looking at anything, she smiled. _I suppose the question is; which one's my type? Guess I'll just have to play it by ear._


	10. Chapter 10

The next day Sam, Ruby, and Meg were already sitting in a larger booth meant for 6 people when Dean and Castiel arrived, trays of food in hand. Both boys looked tired, and as they slide into the booth (Dean managed to sit next to Meg and Ruby, Cas next to Sam), the colorful bruise around Dean's left eye caught everyone attention.

"What happened to you?" Meg asked.

Dean looked at her, and smirked. "Well, when we were walking over here I caught a glimpse of you sitting here. I was so enchanted I ran into that pillar over there, so I'm going to need your number for insurance purposes, please."

Meg chuckled. "Not your best work, but not bad for thinking on your feet."

Both Ruby and Sam rolled their eyes. Castiel looked at them. "Dean wasn't fast enough to dodge Sid," he explained.

"That sounds a lot more accurate," Ruby said. "My sister isn't all that."

Meg elbowed Ruby hard in the side. "Mind your tongue."

"Wait, Sid is actually beating the crap out of you during practice?" Sam asked. "He doesn't come near the rest of us in class when we have sparring practice."

"Probably does it because we can handle a little tough love," Dean said. "He's a sadistic bastard, though. Ow."

Meg looked at Castiel, quietly eating his salad, her eyes traveling over him. "How come it doesn't look like you went a few rounds with Apollo Creed?" she asked.

Castiel spoke, but didn't look up. "Well, I was in weapon form for the most part, but Dean did drop me a few times."

"It does not count as me dropping you when Sid kicks you out of my hand and across the room," Dean clarified.

"Typical butterfingers," Ruby said.

"Hey, at least you two are up and walking," Sam said. "Sid's a level three meister. He could kill you with his pinkie."

"You make it sound like he hasn't been trying to," Dean grumbled, wincing as he munched on a fry.

A few minutes of silence passed between everyone as they ate their meals.

"Well, hey there, Dean-o!" said a chipper voice, and everyone looked to see two people standing at the end of their booth. One was a guy with brown hair combed back and amber eyes, grinning at them. The other was a darker-skinned, thin girl with a red top and black jeans, her long black hair pulled back into a pony tail. Her eyes were narrowed, and her lips were pursed. Both were holding trays of food.

"Gabriel!" Dean said, swallowing a bite of hamburger. "I was wondering when you were gonna show back up."

"Mind if we sit?" Gabriel asked, and even though the booth was full, everyone shifted over to allow Gabriel on one side and Kali on the other.

"Everyone, this is Gabriel, and his lovely meister Kali," Dean said.

Kali looked at Dean suspiciously. "How do you know my name?"

Dean grinned. "You're reputation precedes you." Kali narrowed her eyes, and Dean held up his hands in surrender. "Trust me, it's nothing but good news."

Afterwards, introductions were made around the table. Meg and Ruby looked happy to have another female at the table.

"Kali Shivan? Of Shivan Industries?" Sam asked.

"What's it to you?"

"Wow. You're the heir to the biggest munitions and warhead manufacturing company this side of the Pacific! Wow, how'd your parents handle you being accepted into the DWMA? Ma'am," he added after a moment.

Kali simply tilted her head up, to look down her nose at him. "Finally, someone who knows the respect the Shivan name commands. To answer your question, my parents were very proud. Being a graduate of the DWMA opens doors into all sorts of business negotiations and powerful allegiances. Only good things will come from this."

"Major money," Ruby whispered into Meg's ear.

"I suddenly feel like I'm not good enough to be at my own table," Dean said, thoroughly impressed and feeling like the new girl was waaaaay out of his league.

"She has that effect," Gabriel said, munching on a cookie. "Get used to craning your neck to see her on her high horse, boys. And girls."

Dean turned to say something to Gabriel, but his eyes got hung up on the cookies, pie, cake, and candy piled up on his tray. "Geez, Gabe, sweet tooth much?"

Gabriel sighed. "First of all, it's Gabriel. Secondly," he said, pointing to the pie. "There's fruit in there. It's healthy."

"Eating that much processed sugar could lead to insulin resistance, which would increase your chances of developing diabetes," Castiel said.

Gabriel leaned over, his golden eyes boring into clear blue ones, than elbowed him in the side. "Glad to see you're just as literal, and that your sense of humor is just as non-existent, as ever. By the way, never got to thank you for ruining my fun with Dean last time."

Castiel narrowed his eyes. "You're welcome," the weapon said, almost a little threateningly.

"Hey, hey, no harm, no foul," Dean said, the tension between Cas and Gabe getting pretty uncomfortable.

The groups of teenagers around the table looked like a strange hodge podge. Gabriel, with his prankster attitude and mountain of sugary food in front of him, was wearing ripped jeans and a plain t-shirt. There was a permanent smirk on his mouth and a mischievous glint in his amber, almost golden eyes.

Castiel, in his typical button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows and crooked blue tie, was quietly eating his salad while deep in thought.

Sam was just a few inches taller than everyone else, with his baggy plain t-shirt and jeans, a closed book on his lap. He kept sneaking glances at Gabriel. Whether it was because of how the guy's hair and eyes were the same color, or how he could survive eating that much sugar without going into a diabetic coma and dying was unclear.

Across the table, Ruby and Meg wore black jeans, biker boots, black tank tops, and leather jackets, eating pizza and fries. They seemed to be having a conversation that only consisted of glances, facial expressions, and choked back laughter.

Dean didn't stop grinning, considering he was sitting between Meg and Kali, burger long gone and fries not far behind. Hopefully, his charm would wear off on at least one of the girls at the table.

Kali, despite the cramped quarters of the booth, managed to fit a few inches of space between old faded t-shirt, ripped jeans and bruised Dean and herself. Her red blouse and black slacks easily cost what Bobby made selling car parts in a few months. She sat with his back straight, eating her sushi with chopsticks perfectly, not bothering to look at anyone at the table.

Sam grabbed the cup of coffee in its little disposable cup once his meal was finished and, finding it cool enough to drink, pressed it to his lips. Halfway through the sip, his face scrunched up into a horrible visage of pain and disgust, and he actually had to cover his mouth to not spit the liquid out. He was able to swallow the disgusting liquid, but just barely.

"Dude, you all right?" Dean asked, seeing the entire thing.

"Oh, my god, what the hell did they do to this coffee?!" Sam sputtered, holding the cup away with his arm fully extended. "God, it's disgusting!"

Gabriel looked equally concerned, but Dean knew better than most, and he managed to catch the mischievous twinkle in the little guy's eyes.

"Gabe, really? You just met the guy," Dean admonished. Gabe sighed and rolled his eyes. Apparently Dean was programmed to give people nicknames whether they wanted them or not. _What's the point in fighting it?_ he thought to himself.

Sam whipped around and leaned forward so he could glare at him around Castiel. "You did this?"

Gabe, a lollipop in his mouth, shrugged good-naturedly. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, it wasn't specifically aimed at you, Sam. It was an equal opportunity pranking."

"Let me guess….replaced the sugar with salt?" Dean asked, and Sam made another disgusted face as he grabbed Ruby's half-full glass of water and emptied it.

"Dude, get your own!" she said.

Gabriel grinned, and as if to make his point there was another loud noise of disgust, and everyone looked to see several tables around people with coffee cups were making disgusted faces that mirrored Sam's.

"Though the trick is unoriginal, the execution ain't bad," Dean said. "How'd you manage changing all the sugar to salt?"

Gabriel simply grinned, and waved his finger at them. "Ah, ah, ah. Magician's don't reveal their secrets."

Kali had been eating her food with her eyes closed, mouth drawn into a line; however, as she dabbed her mouth with a napkin, Gabriel caught the edge of her mouth turn up into a grin. _Atta girl, acknowledge my awesomeness! _

Kali opened her eyes and looked at Gabriel. "If my partner is done causing mischief and giving himself a life-time of cavities, it's time to take our leave," she said.

Gabriel didn't bother to hide his pout. "Come on, Kali. Live a little! Speaking to other kids who aren't worth a few million bucks is good for you."

Everyone became slack-jawed a little (except Sam, who was still suffering the after effects of salted coffee, and Castiel who eyes widened instead).

"You aren't getting out of shooting practice that easily," she said, ignoring their looks, instead walking away, leaving him behind.

"Don't worry," he whispered to the table as he got up. "I'm still trying to get that stick dislodged. She's actually not as much an ice queen as she comes off. I think she was actually nervous."

"Well, no one's perfect," Dean said, grinning. "Nerves make people do weird things."

"You don't say?" Ruby asked incredulously. Dean stuck his tongue out at her.

"Catch ya later, losers!" Gabriel said with a grin, and had to walk quickly to catch up to his taller meister.

"What's wrong, Dean? You didn't throw yourself at her every time you spoke," Meg said. "You might want to go and make sure Sid's little love tap didn't give you a concussion."

Dean elbowed her in the side. "Shut up, Meg."

"Hey, Dean," Sam said, catching his attention. "You've been hunting for a while, right? And, you've hunted all kinds of monsters, right?"

"Yeah to both questions. Why?"

Sam leaned forward, a determined look on his face. "Could you teach me some fighting moves? And about monsters? How to find them, how to kill them?"

Dean's green eyes looked over Sam for a moment, trying to figure out the kid's angle. _He's too determined to just be curious, he realized_. Sam fixed a stare on him that could have given Castiel a run for his money.

"Hey, Sam, you do realize you're going to a school that's entirely dedicated to killing monsters. Why take the advice from this joker?" Ruby said, motioning towards Dean.

"It's not kishins I want to know about," he said simply.

_Yep, he's up to something_, Dean thought. _I can't just tell him stuff and let him go off half-cocked and get killed, though. _

"Can't see why not. I mean, who am I to deny someone the opportunity to kick monster ass?" Dean said.

"That's great!" Sam said.

Dean raised a hand, making him pause. "Before I start telling you anything, I need to see what you're working with. Meet me in the gym in an hour, got it?"

Sam grinned, but it wasn't one of mirth, it was a forced smile. "Alright, see you then," he said, and everyone parted ways, the girls following Sam while Cas followed Dean out a different exit.

"Dean, what are you doing? Don't you think this is reckless? What if Sam tries to hunt something and gets hurt?" Cas bombarded him with questions.

"Cool it, Cas. I already thought that stuff through. First off, I'm not gonna tell him everything I know about the business and let him go play hunter! I figure showing him so more advanced fighting tricks isn't that dangerous. He gets better, we get better, and Sid can't kick our ass as badly every day."

Castiel thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, but will you be up for it? Normally you'd be exhausted by now."

"I'm fine! My eye hurts like hell, but I've had worse, trust me. Believe me, I'm not going to let anything happen to that kid. I couldn't forgive myself if anyone got hurt on my accord," Dean said somberly.

* * *

Dean and Sam were standing on the practice mats in the gym, shoes and jackets gone. Ruby, Meg, and Castiel stood away from the mats, watching. Both girls had their arms across their chests, but Castiel's hands were in his pockets, eyes narrowed as he watched them. He was slightly worried. Despite Dean's protests, Sid hadn't just grazed him earlier; Cas was worried that he might hurt himself, or even Sam by accident. Sid was a teacher of fighting styles, but Dean was a kid, just like the rest of them.

"Alright," Dean said, bouncing on his toes and shaking out his arms, getting the blood pumping. "This is a little spar, that's all. No weapons, and we aren't trying to kill each other either. Just try to hit me," he said. "Okay, just not this eye, if possible."

"You sure?" Sam asked. The bravado from earlier seemed to be replaced with a slight case of nerves.

"Yep. Now, come on grasshopper, I don't have all night," Dean said, motioning for Sam to come at him.

Sam closed his eyes, took a deep breathe, and launched himself at Dean as fast as possible, trying to tackle him to the ground. Dean easily sidestepped the attempt.

"Come on dude, my 10 year-old sister is more original than that!" Dean taunted.

Sam righthened himself on the other side of the mat, looking over Dean, clenching his jaw. Sam took a few steps forwardly, almost tentatively, but flew forward with his fist out, going for Dean's jaw.

Again, Dean stepped to the side, but he grabbed Sam's arm as he went past and used his momentum to sling him onto his back. Sam landed with a loud "oomph!" the wind knocked out of him. "Ow," he moaned, rubbing his head.

Dean stood over him and offered him a hand up. As Sam got back to his feet, Dean slapped him good naturedly on the shoulder. "Don't feel bad, Sammy. Remember, I'm a—"

Suddenly, Dean was grabbed by his arm and flung over Sam's hip, landing on his back. Once he got his breathe back, he propped himself up on his elbows, looking up at the smug look on Sam's face. "Smug, Sammy?" Dean asked, and before Sam could respond Dean swung his leg around and hit the back of Sam's knee, crumpling him to the mat next to him.

"Crap, that hurt," Sam hissed, rubbing the back of his leg.

"Come on, Sam, kick his ass!" Ruby called out.

"Aw, someone's got a fan-girl," Dean teased, rolling away from Sam's fist. He got back to his feet, mirroring Sam, who was looking a little winded.

"Not bad, Sammy," Dean grinned. "Good to see you're a quick study. That's a lifesaver right there. Now, let's try that again, but without the attitude."


	11. Chapter 11

They fell into a routine that continued for the next week. Classes were in the morning, followed by Sid's personal training sessions in the afternoon. After eating dinner with everyone, Dean and Sam would spar for about an hour or so. Sometimes they'd even do homework and sleep became a commodity.

Sometimes Gabriel and Kali would eat dinner with them, sometimes they weren't seen outside of class. Most of the time there was laughing and arguing around the booth during dinner as everyone became comfortable in the new gang. And almost every night Sam would pester Dean with questions about monsters. ("Do stakes kill vampires?" "Nope, you gotta cut off its head. And don't bother with garlic, either. I heard a story about an amateur hunter who thought garlic would work. The vampires ate garlic bread in front of him, using his blood as marinara sauce that they drained slowly from his body. Dumb bastard got saved, but it was a lesson he never forgot.")

Sam was a fast learner, and over the course of a week had gotten good enough to make Dean wary as they spared. That, combined with Sid's everyday lessons, meant that the new meisters were getting stronger at the speed of light.

"Watch out for his leg, Sam" Meg called, standing on the side as the two meisters tussled.

"Get him in the 'nads!" Ruby yelled, sounding more bloodthirsty than was necessary.

_He puts his weight on his left leg when he aims high, and he always crouches when going for the left,_ Castiel sent Dean over their telepathic link.

"I've got this, Cas," Dean grunted as Sam's arm wrapped around Dean's neck from behind.

Ruby and Meg turned to look at Cas. "Giving him advice mentally is cheating!" Ruby said.

"How is this cheating if he's too stubborn to take it?" Castiel muttered darkly.

Sam wasn't loosening the hold on his neck, and it was getting hard to breathe. With the last of his energy, Dean doubled over, which pulled Sam over his hip and slammed him down onto the ground. Sam lay there, slightly dazed, and Dean stood gasping.

"Jesus Sam, you do remember I'm the good guy, right?" Dean asked, rubbing his neck gingerly.

"Sorry, sorry. You okay?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just keep the anger in check, Incredible Dork," he said, helping Sam up with a grin.

"Alright I think that might be enough for one day," Dean said. Sam rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassment coloring his checks.

As they climbed off the mat, there was a familiar clearing of the throat, and everyone turned to see Sid off to the side, watching them.

"Only been here a few weeks and already undermining my authority, huh Dean?" Sid asked. "I'm curious what makes you think you're qualified to teach other students when you can hardly handle me?"

Dean and Sam froze on the mat, and the weapons looked a little nervous as well.

"Well, he asked, first of all," Dean said, and Sam whipped around to face him, a hurt look on his face as he realized he was tossed unceremoniously under the bus. "And secondly, we aren't doing anything wrong. Just tutoring a friend."

Sid gave them another stern look, but then broke into a grin. "Never said you were. I like you Dean, and I don't have a problem with your friends, either. However, I'm not here to bust you." He looked over everyone. "Dean and Castiel, you are wanted by Lord Death."

"Lord—Death?" Castiel said, eyes wide in complete shock.

"Why does the big guy want to see us?" Dean asked.

"I'm not the kind of man to spoil a surprise," Sid said. "Go to the Death Room as quickly as possible, and behave yourselves in Death's presence," he said.

To Sam and the girls, Sid made a "shooing" motion. "I expect to see those moves in class tomorrow, Sam," Sid said with a grin. Sam nodded, and as he watched Dean and Castiel follow Sid, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

Ruby and Meg looked at Sam, who seemed to be slightly shaking in anger, and looked at each other, clearly unsure of what to do. "Sam?" Ruby asked. "What's up?" Meg said.

_I'm tired of being abandoned. I'm not useless! I can fight, I can win, just give me a chance, dammit!_ He thought. The shaking stopped, and after a few breaths he looked at his partners and shrugged. "Nothing's up. Come on, we have an essay due tomorrow," he said, pushing past them. Meg and Ruby followed their meister, not pushing the issue further.

* * *

They dealt with their nervousness in different ways as they waited inside the Death Room, Death nowhere to be seen. Castiel sat in one of the little plastic chairs for waiting, hands clasped in his lap and eyes far away in silent contemplation. Dean was sitting next to him, partially wanting to clasp him on the back and reassure the weapon, but instead kept his hands behind his lead as he leaned backwards, trying to calm himself. "You going to be okay, Castiel?" he asked quietly.

Cas seemed to return to himself, and turned his head towards Dean, looking more confident. "I'm fine, Dean. Are you?"

"Oh, yeah," he said dismissively, trying to hide his nervousness. "Meeting the Grim Reaper is nothing to get worked up about, is it?"

"That's what I keep trying to _tell_ people!" came a cheerful, almost squeaky voice from behind them. They both whipped around to see Spirit, the scythe, and the Grim Reaper standing next to him. Towering over him, actually.

Dean wasn't exactly sure what he was expecting, but the high-pitched voice coming from tall, thin figure clad in a black robe and wearing a cartoonish skull mask was not what he was expecting. _Is he… wearing a pair of white foam hands?_ He wondered, looking at Death's oversized hands to his sides.

Death leaned to the side, almost doubled over, taking them in. He glided forward, and held out a hand towards Dean. Putting on a smile that was strained with nerves, he shook the hand. "Um, hi…Lord Death," he said.

"Dean! It's so nice to finally meet you in the flesh!" Death said, energetically shaking his hand. "And this is Castiel, the Angel Blade, right? Nice to meet both of you!"

"Wait a second," Dean said, causing Death to pause. "If you're the Reaper, shouldn't you be out—ya know, _reaping_? Or does nobody die when you're in the office?"

Death turned around, and even though there were no eyes in the sockets, Dean could still feel the intense stare Death had fixed on him. "No, Dean, people are still dying. Think of me as the Vice President in Death Industries, and the reapers you know of are our entry level employees."

Castiel snapped out of his shocked reverie (he did just shake hands with the Reaper, after all) and asked "Wait, if you're the V.P. who's the President?"

"No one to concern yourself with," Death said, waving the question away. "There's more pressing business to be discussed. There's currently a job available, and I want you on the case," Death said, looking at Dean.

"Um, but Lord Death, sir, aren't jobs usually listed on the bulletin board for students to choose themselves?" Castiel asked.

"Normally, yes. However, I feel that this particular job would be handled better by someone with Dean's qualifications."

_A hunt?_ Dean realized. Well, that's odd. "What's the job?"

To answer his question, Spirit appeared holding a portable radio, and lifted in onto a table that seemed to appear from nowhere. Spirit clicked the radio on, and a smooth male voice was speaking slowly, almost hypnotically.

"A friendly desert community, where sun is hot, the moon is beautiful, and mysterious lights pass overhead while we all pretend to sleep. Welcome-"

"To Night Vale," Castiel finished, causing Death and Spirit to turn and look at him. As the musical introduction continued, Cas ducked his head so he didn't have to see them staring. "I listen to the show sometimes at night when I can't sleep." He looked up at Dean and shrugged. "Cecil's voice is very soothing."

"Yes, that is true," Death said. "And let's not get started on him and Carlos!"

"I'm sorry, what does a radio show have to do with hunting?" Dean interjected before Castiel and Death could bond over their mutual love of the show. Both glared daggers at him.

"If you listened to show, you'd know that there are all sorts of reasons for a hunter to go to Night Vale," Cas stated.

Lord Death held up his hands to stop them from further bombarding him with questions. "Let me start at the beginning. Night Vale is a small town about thirty miles from Death City. Twice a month they release a broadcast, but Night Vale isn't a typical place. It's a hotspot for paranormal activity, inter-dimensional travel, bizarre accidents, and unusual beings. You could just work in Night Vale for the rest of your life and never run out of things to hunt," Death said to Dean.

"That sounds exceptionally dangerous. Count me in!" Dean said with a smirk.

"Anyway, an informant has told me that a kishin has set up shop in the town. Several people have gone missing, presumed dead. We need you to go check out the town and destroy to kishin, Dean and Castiel. I know you're one-star meisters, but I'm confident that you can handle this."

"Alright," Dean said. "But that doesn't explain why you want _me_ to go. It sounds like a regular kishin-egg hunt, why did you want me?

"Night Vale is a strange place, Dean. Kishin-eggs that are attracted there are not the only monsters that go bump in the night there. I want you to go because you have more experience than any other meisters in your class currently. If anything else is acting up in Night Vale, you are qualified to handle it. Now, shoo! I'll be rooting for you!"

* * *

Once the boys left, Spirit turned towards his boss. "Are you sure this is a good idea, Sir?" he asked Lord Death. "Normally students have been training at least two-three months before going into the field."

Death leaned over, somehow able to convey a questioning look through the mask. "Normally, that is true. However, we've never had a Hunter as a meister! He's already a few steps ahead of the rest of his class, and the kishin's arrival was perfect timing. I'm positive both he and Castiel will do fine!"

Spirit rubbed his temple, and hoped the Reaper was right.

* * *

The road was a lonely two lane bit of asphalt, completely devoid of any other traffic. Around them was expansive desert, complete with high rock twisted by millennia of wind, and sparse vegetation. The real show was overhead, however; there being not a single sign of civilization aside from the road, so the stars were the only lights. They shone clearly in the clear night, a billion pinpricks of light through an ebony cloth. Castiel had spent most of the ride looking up into the night sky, Dean in charge of driving his Chevelle towards Night Vale.

He glanced over at his partner, and a small grin spread over his face. He remembered staring up into clear night skies like this when he was younger, when his Mom or Dad were driving to or from a hunt. No matter how scared he had been for his parents (or for himself when was older and working with them) looking up into the sky and getting lost amongst the stars always calmed his nerves. _Maybe after this, we'll stop and look at the stars for a while_, he thought. He imagined pulling the bulky car over, and both he and Cas sitting on the hood and gazing up into the heavens, drinking beers in companionable silence after a job well done.

_Come on Dean, we haven't ganked this sucker yet!_ He berated himself.

As Cas continued to be lost in the stars, Dean pushed a cassette into the deck, and turned up the music, singing along under his breath. "Carry on, my wayward So-o-on, there'll be peace when you are do-one-"


	12. Chapter 12

"_Free yourself from whatever confines that are surrounding you, and look up towards to night sky. Look up, and lose yourself in the millions upon billions of twinkling lights, interwoven throughout the ebony cloth of space. _

"_You wonder 'Are we truly alone amongst all that?' As you ponder this question, you must realize that, no matter if you answer 'yes' or 'no' that the answer has horrifying implications either way. Welcome to Night Vale."_

* * *

Castiel's eyes opened wide in surprise as Dean opened the trunk of the Chevelle, and saw it was filled with talismans, guns, knives, boxes of salt, iron bars, and other various odds and ends. Surprise at the amount of artillery gave way to unabashed curiosity about the diversity of items in the trunk.

"Dean, we are hunting a kishin. Shouldn't I be the only weapon you need?"

Dean looked up at him and grinned. "Call it hunter's paranoia," he said. He took a flask of holy water and stuffed it in his jacket pocket, along with a silver knife, an iron shiv, and a small baggie of salt. They parked on the edge of town, both doors open and they listened to the smooth voice of the broadcaster coming from the interior speakers.

"That's one hell of a welcome," he said, shaking his head after the bizarre intro. He looked at Castiel. "And this stuff puts you to sleep like a baby? This would drive me to drink. Too much thinking for me. Let me just deal with the here and now, thank you."

Castiel shrugged. "What's the plan?" he asked.

"Well, if this were a normal case, we'd go where the information is. Not exactly sure I trust something called the 'Sheriff's Secret Police,' so we'll go to the next best place. The radio station."

Castiel's jaw dropped slightly. "You mean, actually go to the broadcast station? Where Cecil is?"

Dean furrowed his brows at him. "Yeah, he's got info, we need info."

Castiel suddenly smiled. Not a twitch of a smirk, not a vague grin, a full on _smile_. Dean was suddenly reminded of the Cheshire Cat. "I'd like that very much," the weapon said.

"You're not gonna ask him for his autograph, are you?" Dean asked jokingly, but his smile faded when Castiel seemed to actual contemplate the question. "Dude. We're on the clock!"

"Afterwards, then," Castiel said. He stated it so seriously that Dean just rolled his eyes. They got back into the battered car, and fully drove down Route 800 towards the station.

* * *

"_Listeners, as I am sure you are aware, several people in Night Vale appear to have disappeared over the past week. The Sheriff's Secret Police have no information to offer on these open investigations. They also openly admit that they have had no involvement in these disappearances. These missing people include: Maggie Thatcher, Ronald Jones, Annie Fulton, Susan Kent, and Caleb Martinez. If you have any information about these disappearances, or if you are one of the missing townspeople and have discovered that you are, in fact, _found_, please contact the police headquarters. You know the drill! You may simply explain yourself to an empty room; or, if you are a traditionalist, painting your door with lamb's blood is also acceptable."_

* * *

It was a good thing Dean was already pulling into a parking spot in front of the radio station, because he might have just jacked the brakes and forced the car to a complete stop in the middle of the highway. He looked down at his radio, then at Castiel, who was looking significantly less freaked by the latest segment.

"'Lamb's blood?' 'Talk to an empty room?' Cas, what the hell is going on in this town?" Dean demanded.

"This is actually pretty par for the course, if the other broadcasts are any indication," the weapon said calmly, looking out the windows at the quiet town around them. The radio station was not very large, but it did have a tall tower atop it with a blinking red light flashing continuously. "It's just like I imagined it would. Quiet and quant, yet harboring a great evil just out of sight."

Castiel turned back towards the driver's seat to see Dean staring at him. "Surprisingly, I'm suddenly not as stoked about this hunt as before."

For once, Castiel reached over and patted Dean's shoulder, still grinning. "It'll be fine," he said.

Dean didn't really believe him, but he didn't really have any other choice in the matter.

* * *

"_We've had some interesting events occur over the past week, listeners. Let's start this segment with some good news. During a recent press conference, the Mayor of Desert Bluffs was de-pantsed by an unknown assailant. Though the authorities cannot seem to figure out who the perpetrator was, or how they seemed to make the pants disappear instantly, we all have to agree that they totally deserved it. _

"_Next week, proposition 73D will be put up to a vote, and the City Council will determine whether dinosaurs will finally be allowed the right to vote. Proponents say that, in order to enter the 21st century, the vote must be allowed. The loudest proponent voice is that of Mayoral Elect Hiram McDaniels, who claims that 'dragons and dinosaurs are closely linked evolutionary cousins, and so to be true to ourselves we must be true to our pasts.' _

_Those that condemn the new voting amendment, claim that allowing the amendment is pointless considering dinosaurs are still classified as extinct. However, such stifling categories such as "living" and "extinct" are not so black and white. 73D has struck a chord with our little town because it attempts to blur the lines between traditional social norms and what is considered socially acceptable in the present. Stay tuned for the latest information on the Council's 73D decision._

* * *

Getting into the radio station had not presented a problem, but actually talking with the radio host, Cecil, seemed a little trickier. As the two walked through the entrance and into the tiny lobby, a young man was at a desk, writing furiously. He was only a few years older than them, and he had a blue Mohawk. The name tag on his black t-shirt read "Intern Michael."

He looked up at the two newcomers, and his brown eyes narrowed slightly. He smiled, but only because it was a professional habit. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Ah, well. Sorry for the late arrival. Is there any way we could speak to Cecil? There's some questions we need him to answer," Dean said, trying to sound as non-threatening and courteous as possible. Castiel was simply looking around the tiny station with a sense of curious wonder.

Intern Michael scoffed. "Right. Look, buddy, he's in the middle of a live broadcast. Why don't you talk to him afterwards, or better yet tomorrow? Isn't it past your curfew anyway?"

Dean stood before the desk, suddenly unsure what to do. He was way too young to try and pretend to be a Fed or a journalist like his Mom or Dad would do to get information on a case. He started thinking of ways to maybe break into the sound booth, or find out where Cecil lived and follow him to his house. However, those plans evaporated when Castiel walked up next to Dean and pulled out him school I.D.

"Your I.D., Dean," Castiel hissed. Confused but glad someone had a plan, Dean pulled out his identification card and they both flashed them to the intern.

"We're students from the DWMA, and we're here on business," Castiel said calmly. "We would like to speak to Mr. Palmer at his earliest convenience, please."

Intern Michael was now wearing extremely irritated expression on his face. Before he could tell them to get lost, a woman in her mid-20s walked past, and paused to take in the scene.

"Excuse me, what's going on, Michael?" she asked as she walked over.

"These two kids are trying to visit Cecil," Michael said dismissively.

The girl looked at the two teenagers, an eyebrow arched in curiousity.

"I'm Castiel, and this is Dean. We're students from the DWMA and we need to speak to Mr. Palmer," Castiel said, putting a little more authoritative push behind his words.

She looked slightly perplexed. "The DW-? Oh!" she said as realization hit her. "Yeah, totally! Cecil's about to take a break, anyway, just follow me," she said.

Michael's jaw dropped open slightly. "Gabby, what are you doing?" he hissed.

"They're from the DWMA, you idiot! Their like mini-Feds! If they're here on a job, they have automatic clearance, no questions asked," Gabby explained, and smacked his arm.

As Michael rubbed his arm and glared daggers at the two boys, Gabby led them down a little hallway towards a recording studio. "Are you here about the disappearances?" she asked.

"Yeah. We're hoping to sort out whatever problem you've got going on here," Dean said.

"You'd be here forever, then! I'm new to town myself, and man, this place is straight up twilight zone," she told them in a hushed tone.

"Yeah, I've noticed," Dean said, unable to help the feeling that something was watching him. The radio station so far looked plain and boring, yet he continuously had chills racing down his spine. Even Castiel, who had looked vaguely excited at the beginning of this trip, seemed a little overwhelmed.

"This place feels a little…creepier, than I previously imagined," Castiel said, glancing over his shoulder for the third time over the course of the 20 foot hallway and turning right.

"You _never_ get used to it," Gabby confided. She stopped them suddenly, and Dean looked to see a simple door on the left, the only door along the whole wall. The door was half clouded glass, and there was a dark shape moving inside the office. STATION MANAGEMENT, the plaque on the door read.

Without warning or ceremony, Gabby immediately dropped to her hands and knees and started to silently crawl past the door. Looking over her shoulder, she rolled her eyes and motioned them forward. Dean simply stood there, not even sure which part was confusing him more. The fact that Gabby acted like this was normal, or the fact that Castiel was already on the ground, following her example.

He looked at Dean, pointed at the door he was about to crawl past, and made a slicing motion across his neck. _Trust me, Dean. Station Management is not to be trifled with_, the weapon's voice echoed in his mind.

He took a deep breath, and got on the ground, and crawled past the door as fast as possible, cheeks burning in embarrassment. This had to have been some weird-ass hazing trick set up by Death for him, right?

Just as he passed the door, a shiver of fear racked his body, and he looked at the shadowy movement through the glass. His heart was suddenly thumping too loud, too fast, and he was becoming drenched in nervous sweat. He knew there was something in there, something downright evil, and it was going to find him, and he'd be worse than dead. Dean had hunted a wendigo, a werewolf, vampires, ghosts, but whatever was behind that normal door was more terrifying than any of those creatures combined.

Suddenly, Castiel's hands were on the front of his jacket, wrenching him out of his frozen terror, and past the door into a heap just on the other side. As soon as he was away from it, Dean felt himself come back to his senses. He looked up at Castiel, and he was slightly relieved to see that Castiel looked just as freaked out and he felt. They both looked at Gabby, and she patted them on the shoulders in sympathy.

Dean clearly his throat quietly, and he hopped to his feet, helping Castiel up. He tried to pretend he hadn't just been piss-your-pants terrified about crossing in front of a damn door. He straightened his jacket, and Castiel fixed his blue tie while dusting off his jeans.

They followed Gabby down the rest of the hallway, and around a corner to see the glass walls of the recording booth. As they passed the glass, both Dean and Castiel paused to look inside the booth.

Cecil's back was turned towards them, and he was sitting in front of a radio microphone, headphones over his ears and he seemed excited about something as his arms were making wildly animated gestures, but the soundproofing prevented them from knowing what he was going on about. The only things Dean could tell from the view was the fact that Cecil was a guy, not thin or fat, and had an affinity for purple. A light pastel purple shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows like Castiel usually wore. Purple suspenders and black slacks and black shoes completed the outfit from what Dean could see. His arms had indistinguishable purple tattoos. Dean's eyes widened in surprise with he also noticed the guy had white hair. Not blonde, not grey. Actually white. _That's a new one_, he thought.

Castiel tilted his head slightly. "I think the eye tattoo on his left arm just blinked," he said, his even, gravelly voice sounding only vaguely concerned, as though blinking tattoos were only a mild curiosity, not a bat-shit crazy phenomenon.

For once, Dean didn't even question it. "Blinking tattoos I can handle," he muttered.

Gabby motioned for them to follow her into a door next to the glass wall, and they found themselves in a tiny office, with a computer, a microphone, and a door into the booth. Cecil had paused, and was taking a drink of water as a sound bite from a guy with a southern accent played around them. At this new angle, Dean saw Cecil had glasses and a purple tie. _Guy loves his purple_, Dean thought with a snicker. _If he keeps up with that color scheme, people might think he was—_

"So, Hiram, you agree with my boyfriend, Carlos, about these recent events?" the voice of Cecil on the recording said, and Dean just sighed. _Of course_.

Gabby typed away on the computer and then sent the message to Cecil's laptop next to him. He paused for only a moment, glanced at them in the office, then settled back in front of the microphone, a smile on his lips.

"_Listeners, breaking news. Earlier in the broadcast I spoke of the missing townsfolk that disappeared without a trace. It seems that these disappearances have prompted a special investigation by the Death Weapon Meister Academy! Here, in the room next to me, are two male students, named Dean and Castiel. They've come to try and solve this mystery for us! If anyone has any information that can move their investigation further, please call the station. And now, while I chat with our new little detectives, I present to you, the Weather." _

A music number started to play, and Cecil stood from his desk and started walking into the office they were in.

Dean shot a look of absolute shock at Gabby. "Lady! You don't just let your boss announce our entire presence to the town! How are we supposed to figure to find the culprit now, they'll be halfway to Vegas by now!"

Gabby shrugged. "I'm supposed to share any news bulletins with Cecil. You guys are news," she stated unapologetically.

Dean still had more words to say, but Cecil was now in the room with them. "Thanks for the update, Gabs!" he said, his voice smooth and hypnotic as it washed over them. Dean suddenly didn't feel so mad anymore. "So, you two are the students?"

"Uh, yeah," Dean said, clearly his throat as he shook Cecil's hand. "I'm Dean, and this is—"

He looked to see Castiel was staring, unblinking, at Cecil. "This is, um, my partner, Castiel. He's a fan of yours."

Cecil grinned, and shook Castiel's hand warmly. "A fan? Outside of Night Vale? Wow! Wonders never cease. Can't wait to tell Carlos that I have an actual _fan_."

He looked down at his wristwatch, and Dean could have sworn of the swirling tattoos on his arm was shimmering and moving, like a mirage. "I don't have much time, but what can I do for you?"

"Well, a map of the town, and the locations were the victims were last seen would definitely get us off on the right foot," Dean said. Cecil nodded, and Gabby left to get them a map.

"Sorry, but do you have a restroom?" Dean asked.

Cecil waved him through the door on the other side of the office.

Castiel wondered if Dean was going try and find some clues for the case. He looked at Cecil, and Cecil looked at him expectantly. Cas was very nervous. He had planned on letting Dean move the investigation forward, he was used to doing such as a hunter. Cas had not expected to be left alone with someone he admired.

"So, when did you start listening to the show?" Cecil asked, trying to make Castiel less nervous. As soon as his melted-butter voice washed over him, Cas felt a little less anxious.

"When I started classes at the DWMA. I have insomnia sometimes. Your voice is soothing," he said, and then stilled when he realized how creepy that came of as.

However, Cecil seemed to take the compliment at face value, and even laughed. "Soothing? Daw! I'll make sure to let Carlos know that, too! Too bad he wasn't here, you probably would have liked to meet him, huh?" Castiel nodded a little sheepishly.

Suddenly, there was a sharp shriek, and Dean came out the bathroom with a look of shock on his face as he shut the door quickly behind him. He pointed his thumb at the door. "There's…uh…there's a cat in there. Floating." He blinked. "Why is there a cat floating next to the sink in your bathroom?"

"Oh, you've met Khoskeh! Isn't he adorable?" Cecil said, his voice going up an octave in giddiness.

"Adorable? Um…I'm not sure that's exactly the word I would use to describe…him," Dean said, and shuddered. "Too many eyes," he said.

Castiel gave Dean a determined look, and motioned for him to step aside so he could go in the bathroom.

"It's your funeral," Dean said, but let him past. At that time Gabby finally returned, a map of the town folded up in her hands. She spread the map over a table and Cecil pent over it immediately, taking a marker as drawing little Xs where the people disappeared.

"Do you know what else the victims might have had in common?" Dean asked as he watched.

"Sorry. I just report the facts. You might want to talk to Old Woman Josie. She's keeps up with the gossip in Night Vale."

"There might be a monster eating people in your town, and that's considered 'gossip'?" Dean asked incredulously.

Suddenly, there was an unearthly roar, and Castiel burst through the door, slamming it shut behind him. When he turned around, though his blue eyes were wide in terror, he was grinning wildly in excitement. "Totally worth it," he dead-paned.

"Please, stop tormenting my cat," Cecil said. He pushed the map towards them. "Here you go! The Weather's almost done, so good luck!" he said, and rushed back into the recording booth.


	13. Chapter 13

After crawling past S.M.'s door, and surviving the daggers Intern Michael had glared at them as they left, Dean and Cas were sitting in the Chevelle, looking at the map with a flashlight. Dean looked at his phone to see it was almost midnight, and stifled a yawn. "Alright," Dean said. "What are we looking at?"

"A map of the victim's last known appearances," Castiel said.

"Dude, it's been a long day. Let's keep the painfully obvious observations to a minimum, please," Dean grumbled, rubbing his face trying to wake back up.

Castiel opened his mouth to speak, but closed it. Instead, he looked at Dean and how often he was attempting to stifle his yawning.

"Perhaps we should return home and pick this up tomorrow after school?" Castiel asked. He was feeling pretty exhausted himself, and he was not even the one who had to actually spar both Sid and Sam in the same day.

Surprisingly, Dean shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea. People are disappearing left and right in this town—there's a good possibility someone's gonna disappear tonight too, and if we're back at the DWMA we might not be able to save them."

"But, what about our classes?"

Dean arched an eyebrow at Cas in a _'Really?'_ gesture. "Dude, we're on a mission straight from Death himself. I'm pretty sure this would count as an 'excused absence' tomorrow."

Castiel thought about it and then nodded. "Okay. But we should check in anyways."

Dean smacked his forehead. "Oh, yeah, totally. Cas, do you remember that number?"

"We don't have a mirror."

Dean looked around his car, and then patted all his pockets, but no luck. Then he caught sight of the rear-view mirror. "Guess this'll work," he said. He leaned forward and breathed on the glass; the cooling air of the desert night and Dean's warm breath fogged the tiny mirror instantly.

"What was it-? Oh, 42-42-5-6-4, when you want to knock on Death's door," the hunter said, drawing the numbers on the misted glass. He adjusted the mirror, then he and Castiel squished together as much as possible without it becoming awkward so they could look in the mirror together.

Instead of their reflections, Death was staring at them. "Dean, Castiel! How goes it? You're not done already, are you?" the Grim Reaper asked cheerfully.

"No, but we did go talk to Cecil. We're gonna stick around tonight and pick up the trail in the morning," Dean explained, stifling another yawn.

"An excellent plan. And how was Cecil?" Death asked.

"Very nice," Cas said. "And Khoshek was…cute, in his own way."

"Oh, you two are so lucky," Death said with a chuckle. Dean got the feeling the Grim Reaper didn't leave his office very often.

"Oh, Lord Death, you said there was an informant here. Could you tell us who that is so we can talk to them?" Dean asked.

"Sorry Dean. You're on your own. This is a test, remember?" the reaper said cheerfully, then waved at them. "Tootles!"

"Hey, wait! Dammit," Dean mumbled. They returned to their seats, and Castiel looked at Dean.

"So, Dean, should we go find a motel for the night?"

Dean laughed bitterly. "Yeah, with what money? I'm broke, what about you?"

Castiel shook his head. "I have some of the weekly stipend, but I suppose it's not enough." He looked at Dean suspiciously. "What about your stipend? We are given $200 a week to live on; what happened to yours?"

The hunter blatantly ignored him. Instead, he started searching the car's back seat, and pulled out a threadbare blanket, which he tossed at Castiel. Dean said, "I'll put my seat back, and you can have the backseat. It's actually pretty comfortable."

"No, it's your car, you should take the back."

"Cas, I insist on it. Don't think I won't make you sleep on the roof."

Castiel's lips drew into a line. He knew Dean was not going to change his mind, but he did not want to back down either. "Dean, you're exhausted. Look, I'm not that tired, okay? I'll look at the map a bit more and see if I can figure out a pattern to the disappearances. You get some sleep. Remember, when we find this kishin-egg, you're the one who's going to have to fight and kill it."

Green eyes met blue and an intense staring match began, neither wanting to concede to the other. After a moment, though, exhaustion won, and Dean broke off his gaze. "Fine, fine," he mumbled, and crawled his way into the back seat. He straightened him out as much as he could and, using his leather jacket like a blanket, passed out almost instantly.

Despite his exhaustion, Castiel did look at the map for a while longer, using the flashlight to try and figure out if there was a rhyme or reason to the disappearances. The long day caught up with him before he could find out any of those answers. Castiel's eyelids would not stop drooping, and eventually he gave up. He leaned his seat back, and rested his head against the door, looking up into the clear night sky. The twinkling stars were the last things he saw before a peaceful darkness overcame him.

* * *

It was the middle of the night when Castiel awoke with a start. Immediately he whipped around to see Dean on his back, mouth open and snoring gently. Looking around, Castiel knew something had woken him up, but the empty streets only prompted more confusion.

His eyes focused on the on the corner of the radio station, and the streetlight there. Specifically, he focused on a shadow that was moving under it. A shadow, not attached to anything, that suddenly seemed to have sharp claws about two feet long instead of fingers, and it disappeared off around a corner of the next street.

"Dean," Cas said. He leaned back and smacked Dean hard. "Dean! Wake up!"

Dean jerked up, and thumped his head on the roof of the car. "Ow, shit! Cas what the hell—"

"Kishin, Dean!" Castiel snapped, and he was out the car and running down the street where the shadow had rushed off too. He heard Dean quickly catch up to him, swearing in pain the whole time.

They came around the corner and skidded to a halt. Under a streetlight in front of them there was a figure lying on the sidewalk, and the shadowy creature standing over it with its claws raised.

"Hey, Dickhead!" Dean yelled, and the shadow whipped around towards them. It had a deformed humanoid shape, limps appearing and disappearing, except its eyes, which were bright orange and several times too large.

Castiel immediately changed and materialized in Dean's waiting hand, and the hunter ran towards the monster as quick as possible. "Come here, ugly!" Dean snarled.

The shadow monster grinned at them, revealing a mouth full of dagger-teeth. It raised its claws to bring down on Dean's head, but Dean dodged the claws and slashed upwards, the tip of the blade catching the kishin across the torso. The shadow monster howled, a noise that shook Dean to his very bones.

The kishin tried to backhand Dean away, but he managed to roll to the left, getting away from those long machete-like claws. At least, he thought he did.

_SHIK!_ "Ow, fuck!" Dean swore, clutching his leg. He thought he'd managed to get out of the monster's reach, but a finger had sliced him across the top of his left thigh. His jeans started to immediately turn black with blood. He was down on one knee, putting pressure on the leg with one hand with holding Castiel tightly in the other.

_Dean!_ Castiel exclaimed, unsure what to do.

Dean looked up to see the monster has grabbed its intended victim and slung the limp body over its shoulder. _If we let it disappear, that person's good as dead!_ Dean realized.

The familiar jolt ran up his arm and filled him in with a jittery numbness. The pain in his wounded leg deadened for a moment, Dean got back to his feet slowly. He swayed as he stood, leg feeling weak under him. He flipped the blade around in his hand and yelled "Hey Asshat! You forgot something!"

The shadow monster turned around slightly, eyes narrowed in annoyance, which turned to complete surprise as the Angel Blade stabbed it right between the eyes.

No longer connected to the living current Castiel had been generating, Dean dropped to the ground, only barely conscious. He looked to see the shadow monster, the surprised expression still etched onto its face as it seemed to….unravel? Like the whole thing was wrapped in shadow ribbons which then blew apart in a mini-explosion.

Castiel changed back into his human form just in time to catch the monsters' intended victim, Gabby. The girl was still unconscious, but luckily she was uninjured and light in stature.

Cas laid the girl on the ground after making sure she was okay, then turned to see a floating orb of red light before his eyes. It hovered right where the monster had died. His breathe hitched slightly at the sight of the kishin egg. A myriad of emotions crossed his mind—fear to actually eat the evil thing, pride at having gotten his first kishin egg, nervousness that he was about to start down a path he wasn't sure he wanted to travel.

Despite his reservations, his hand moved on its own accord, and he grabbed the thing, surprised that it was both light and dense. He closed his eyes, and before he could think about it further, he took the soul and swallowed it whole. It had the same texture and felt like a huge tapioca ball, light and firm but filled with juice. It slid easily down his throat, and into his stomach. He waited a few seconds, but he didn't feel any different from before.

Castiel opened his eyes, and see Dean slumped on the ground a few feet away, not moving. "Dean!" he shouted and raced over to his partner. Dean was still breathing, and the bottom half of his t-shirt was missing. He had ripped it up to make a tourniquet for his leg. That quick thinking seemed to have stemmed the blood loss. For now.

"Castiel, I officially hate kishins," Dean muttered. "Is the girl okay?"

"Gabby's fine, but still unconscious." Cas paused for a second before laying his hand on Dean's shoulder, getting Dean to loll his head over to look at him. "We need to get you to a hospital."

"Not in this crazy town, they might try to take my kidney. I like my kidney, thank you…" Dean said deliriously, almost passing out again.

Still holding his shoulder, Castiel closed his eyes, his brow furrowed in concentration. The energy transfer must have worked, because Dean was suddenly wide awake, and swearing colorfully at the pain in his leg.

Dean's arm was over Castiel's shoulder, and he was unable to keep from leaning on the smaller guy as to not put the pressure on his leg until he was standing. "Thanks, Cas," he said. Once he was up he could move on his own power. They hobbled over to Gabby, still unconscious.

"Think you can zap her awake?" Dean suggested.

Castiel looked unsure. "I don't know. I don't want to hurt her by accident."

"Well, we can't sit here, so, what do we do?" Dean muttered, then groaned at his leg.

Castiel looked at Dean, then at Gabby, and suddenly had an idea. "Dean, can you drive?" he asked.

"Um, yeah. Thank god the Chevelle isn't a manual," Dean said. He moved forward to help with Gabby, but Castiel scooped her up in his arms easily. They made their way slowly back to the car, and slid her into the backseat while Dean and Cas got in front. More colorful swearing on Dean's part, but he didn't seem in danger of dying from blood loss.

"Where are we going to go, Cas?"

"I don't know yet," he said, before turning around completely in his seat in order to face Gabby in the back. He placed his index and middle fingers together on her arm, and concentrated.

"OW!" Gabby yelped, thrashing forward and almost smacking Cas in the face. Luckily he had fast reflexes, and pulled away without injury from her flying fists. She instantly burst into tears, crying and screaming, her thrashing making the car wobbly erratically.

"Calm down, Gabby!" Dean said. "It's us!"

"It's us, you're okay, Gabby," Cas said. "It's Castiel and Dean."

"Castiel? And Dean? But how…where am I? What happened?" Gabby asked, tears streaking her face and making her voice wrecked.

"What's the last thing you remember, Gabby?" Dean asked, looking at her through the rear-view mirror. He didn't turn in the seat for fear of the pain.

Her big brown eyes looked back at him, still looking exceptionally freaked out. "Um, I was still at the station working. I, uh, usually stay late, I'm a workaholic—and I remember running into Michael. He looked—weird. His eyes—oh, I know this will sound crazy but—his eyes looked _orange_. Then, waking up here."

She caught the look the boys shared between them, and her hands flew to her mouth in shock. "Oh my god! Did he—did I almost _disappear_?" she whispered in fright.

"Yeah, but we stopped him. You're safe now, Gabby," Castiel said.

Dean opened his mouth to speak, but instead grimaced in pain. Gabby leaned forward and saw his leg. "Dean! Oh god, we need to get you to the hospital!"

"I'd love to go if we were anywhere but this town," he said before moaning.

Gabby looked to Castiel for explanation. "He's convinced the doctor's might take his kidney," Cas explained in his gravelly, stoic way. Instead of giving him a concerned look, Gabby nodded her head in understanding.

"Oh! I know! Would you like me to drive, Dean?" she asked.

Dean thought for a moment. "Much as I'd like that, I think moving into the back would hurt more than letting me just drive. Where are we going?"

"Carlos' lab. I know where it is. Carlos usually stays up all night doing work in his lab, he might be able to help. Or, if anything, he might be able to point you to patch you up enough for you to get back to your school," she explained.

Dean nodded somberly as he turned the car on. "Please don't be far," he prayed.


	14. Chapter 14

The door of the laboratory opened; before them was a Hispanic man with a touch of stubble on his chin and a touch of gray at his temples. His wore his glasses low on his nose so he could see over them, and his jeans and red flannel shirt was covered with a worn lab coat. His eyes opened wide in surprise to see Gabby and two strange teenage boys, one leaning on the other, a bloody tourniquet tied around his thigh.

"Carlos! We need your help," Gabby said. She voice had a pleading tone, like she was vaguely worried he would turn them away.

"Gabby? What happened? Who are you?" he asked the boys, at the same time moving aside to let them into his lab. Once inside he led the boys towards an empty examination table.

"I'm Castiel, this is Dean," Cas said simply.

"Didn't mean to barge in like this," Dean said, another hiss of pain escaping him. Carlos waved away his apology.

At a nearby table sat Cecil, clad in pajama bottoms and an over-sized sweater, a steaming mug of coffee in front of him. He arched an eyebrow at Gabby, then looked as Carlos and Castiel helped Dean to sit onto the table. "Gabby? You're up a lit late, aren't you? Did you have a hankering for scientific inquiry and understanding our frail existence in this universe?"

Gabby looked at him dubiously. "Scientific-? No! I was leaving the studio and Michael tried to _eat_ me!"

"Ah," Cecil said, sounding way too calm about this bit of news. He looked back over at Dean and Castiel. "So, I'm going to assume you've successfully harvested the kishin-egg, then?"

"Yeah, you could say that," Dean said as Carlos started looking at the bandage. He wandered over to a series of cabinets and started to get bandages, clean rags, and other tools. "Intern Michael was a dick."

"I suppose that's one way to put it. Guess I'll have to do another intern obituary on the air tomorrow. Always a sad day to lose an intern in the line of duty."

It took Dean a few seconds to realize what Cecil said, and he whipped his head up to look the radio host right in the eyes, which were actually…purple? _Of freakin' course. What other color would they be?_

"How do you know what a kishin is?" Castiel asked suspiciously, taking the question right out of Dean's mouth.

Cecil actually laughed. "Well, it would be pretty bad if I graduated from the DWMA and didn't know what a _kishin-egg_ was!"

"You're a—you're a _meister_?" Dean demanded. His teeth clenched not just in pain but in unabashed anger. "People are dying in this town, and you just sit on your ass and do _nothing_ to stop it?"

"I'm a pacifist," Cecil said, with a good-natured shrug. "I report the news, but I don't make it, one way or the other."

"Who's your weapon?" Cas asked. Even though he sounded calm and collected as usual, Dean could tell there was anger boiling just under his cool exterior.

Cecil wiggled his eyebrows at Carlos, who bent his head down so he did not have to look at the teenagers in the eyes, as though he couldn't take their anger at him.

Carlos came back to stand in front of Dean. The boy actually scooted away from the scientist, not wanting any help from him. "You two are _cowards_!"

"It's not like that," Cecil said, anger coloring his voice. He looked at Gabby (who was standing slack-jawed) then at the boys sternly. "You shouldn't be so overly-dramatic," he said, looking at his watch. "Those people should be waking up any minute, no memories of the past week, and no one else in town aside from us will remember that they were missing."

"Wha—what?" Dean asked. He looked at Castiel. "Castiel, can you tell me what he just said? Because I'm pretty sure the blood loss is catching up to me."

"No Dean. I have all my blood, and I am just as confused as you," the weapon said dutifully.

Cecil patted the seat next to him for Gabby to sit down in; considering how green she was suddenly looking, there was a good possibility she was going to pass out again. She took her seat, still looking stuck in a fog. "I—I don't even…" she simply trailed off. Cecil pushed his coffee in front of her, and she started sipping it slowly, a faraway look in her eyes.

"Look, I can't explain how it happens. An alternate timeline crossing over with a time warp? I have no idea," Carlos said. "It seems that whatever causes the strange events to occur here in Night Vale attracts kishin-eggs as well. However, unlike in other places, those who are killed or taken by a kishin seem to—well, I guess the best way to describe it is—they 'respawn' after the kishin is harvested. They are just—back—no memories, just normal again."

"That's impossible," Dean said.

"There's no such thing in Night Vale. I've had to come to accept that," Carlos said. "Now, I'm not a medical doctor, but I remember enough from my days at the Academy to patch you up. Will you please let me?"

Dean was still furious, but he knew he couldn't turn down the help. He nodded, and Carlos started to untie the tourniquet. As he pulled away the blood-drenched fabric, Dean gripped Castiel's shoulder in pain. Despite his smaller frame, Cas was able to stand still and let Dean squeeze his shoulder until it was black and blue. "Sorry, Cas," Dean said, but he was unable to stop his hand from squeezing again.

Carlos was able to get all the fabric away, and he used a pair of shears to cut away a few inches of denim to reveal the kishin's damage. The gash was about six inches long, and almost half and each deep. "You're lucky this wasn't deeper. If that kishin had hit one of the arteries in your leg, you'd be dead a few times over by now," the scientist said.

"Thanks, doc, but I'm not feeling any better," Dean tried to joke. "I'm going to clean this up, and sew up your leg," Carlos warned.

"This isn't my first time being sewn up," Dean admitted. The pain, blood loss, and anger at Cecil had exhausted the hunter/meister to the point that he was almost able to drift off even as Carlos punctured his leg with a needle multiple times. The strange sensation of his skin being pulled back together was nothing more than a minor irritation.

"As much as I hate to admit this, it is the perfect set-up," Castiel said. Dean looked at him, blinking slowly against the tide of tired. "What are you-?"

"This town. It's the perfect place to simulate a real-world kishin encounter. Every time a kishin comes to town, you let Death know so he can send out amateur meisters to deal with it. You have actual victims and an actual kishin, but there is also a DWMA meister/weapon pair living in the town that can help in case anything goes awry. And once the kishin is destroyed, the townspeople come back and are none the wiser." Castiel shook his head. "It's devious, but extremely clever."

"And you remember every time a person was killed by a kishin here? And brought back?" Gabby asked quietly. Cecil nodded. "I'd say…about a few hundred times in the past few years, right Carlos?"

Carlos nodded. "I think so. And every one was revived successfully. By the way, you have to be the only meister to come knocking at my door with a single gash. Most meisters are slightly worse for wear than you," he said.

"Thanks…for the compliment…." Dean said, head lolling to the side, fighting to stay awake.

Castiel handed Dean a glass of water Carlos had brought over earlier, and Dean downed the whole thing in one gulp.

"And, you're done," Carlos said, putting down his needle to inspect the lines of precise stitches across the thigh. "The leg should heal up fine, Dean. Now, I've got an extra cot in the back room. I think it's time you to get some much needed rest."

Dean barely had the energy to nod, and between Castiel and Carlos they helped him to said room with the said cot. Dean was snoring before he hit the cot. When Carlos came back with some blankets and a pillow, Castiel was already asleep, sitting on the floor, his back against the cot. The scientist gently placed the blanket on Dean, and the pillow in Castiel's lap before draping the other blanket on him. He smiled at them, then pulled the door closed quietly, leaving them to sleep off the night's adventures.

Despite how many time he's seen students come and go, he had to admire them and the bravery they showed when facing a live kishin for the first time. Many students had cried over the years, in terror or in pain. Some almost died during their initial hunt. He could not remember any who came to his lab with only a single gash to be sewn up. He also had not met anyone who had called him a coward to his face, though. Though he hated to admit it, Carlos wondered if the boy had a point.


	15. Chapter 15

Dean awoke in a foggy haze late the next afternoon, over 15 hours later. He propped himself up on his elbows and looked down at his leg. The denim was stiffened with the dried blood, and his leg was still tender, even a bit itchy from the stitches. His back and sides were sore, and his throat felt like the surrounding desert, arid and sandy.

It was then he noticed Cas was curled up on the floor next to the cot, still sleeping. During the night Cas had squished his blanket into a ball and was using it as a pillow, the actual one ignored.

Dean swung his legs over the side of the cot, and decided to test him leg. He had to clench his teeth and curl his fingers into fists to not make a noise from the pain his leg radiated as he stood up. He was unstable, almost toppled over from momentary vertigo, but was able to shake it off. It was slow going, but he was able to hobble out of the room and into the lab without waking up his sleeping partner.

He managed to make his way over to the table and sit down in one of the chairs. Dean stifled a loud yawn and shook his head a little, thinking that would help clear up the fogginess.

"You're awake," Carlos said, entering the lab with a cup of coffee and a glass of water in his hands.

"Can't tell if you sound surprised or relieved," Dean said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Well, a bit of both to be honest. I thought you'd sleep longer, but since it looks like you came out here on your own power, your leg must be doing better." He handed the glass to Dean, who gulped it down greedily. At the same time Carlos squatted down and gently pulled back the ruined fabric to see the stitches seemed to be holding up, and the swelling around the leg was going down.

Carlos was kind enough to refill the glass for Dean several times before the meister felt the last bit of dryness leave his throat, and his mind felt haze-free.

Dean did not like the scientists continuously hovering around him. "Thanks for the help last night, but I'm fine," he said, hoping that Carlos would take the hint and back out of his personal space. _What is it with people and not understanding how personal spaces work? Maybe it's a weapon thing._

"Yes, I'm starting to see that. I'm curious, though. Last night you mentioned that you have been "sewn up before'? When was that? Usually Death reserves kishin hunting in Night Vale for first-timers."

"I grew up as a Hunter," Dean simply said. "This was my first kishin hunt, but not my first rodeo."

Carlos nodded, but he got a sad look on his face when he looked at Dean's leg. "I really hope for a day when kishins are no longer a threat that must be combated."

Dean scoffed. "That's a little naïve, doc," he said. "As long as there are people alive, there will be kishins. Just like there will be monsters. There will always be things that are hunting us, and stalking us. It's just the way of the world."

Carlos raised his eyebrows at the young man. "That's a pretty cynical thing to say for someone so young."

"I haven't had the opportunity to hide in a stupid town where no one dies," Dean grumbled.

"People die in Night Vale all the time. Disappearances, gruesome deaths, the works. Only those killed by kishins re-spawn for whatever unknown reason that I have yet to fathom." Carlos didn't seem to take anything Dean said offensively, but objectively. Lucky for Dean, otherwise he might have found himself chucked out of the lab with incredible force, were Carlos a more emotional man.

There was a coughing, and both looked over to see Castiel emerge from the back room. His hair looked like it had lost an encounter with a tornado. There were dark circles under his eyes (of which Dean had a matching set), and his clothes were horribly wrinkled. In fact, his buttoned shirt was pulled open, and Dean gasped when he saw the clear black and blue handprint on his left shoulder. "Holy crap, Cas! Did I do that?"

Castiel looked at the bruise, and nodded. "You have…how should I put this?...one hell of a grip," he said, his gravelly voice sounding lighter, like they were sharing a joke.

"Does that hurt, Castiel?" Carlos asked, standing up to let Castiel sit next to Dean. He looked at the bruise, and when he barely touched it Cas flinched. "Do you have any more obtuse questions you would like to ask me?"

Dean's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Wow Cas, cranky much?"

"It's been a long 48 hours," Castiel said warily.

"You're preaching to the choir," Dean said. He looked at Carlos and held his head low. "Sorry, not exactly being very grateful, are we?"

"Sarcasm is a good sign," Carlos said with a chuckle. "Believe me; I've heard worse over the years. You two will be back on your feet eminently."

"Yes, we need to return to the Academy as soon as possible," Cas said slowly. Normally he'd have this horrified look on his face because they hadn't gone to class, or checked in with Death. At the moment, though, he looked sullen, sleepy, and couldn't give a rat's ass about such trivial things.

It was at that moment that Cecil reappeared, walking into the lab with a brown bag of groceries. He gave Carlos a peck on the cheek, then turned his purple-hued stare onto the boys. "Well, aren't you two the picture of health and happiness," he quipped.

Both Dean and Castiel glared at him simultaneously, and Cecil simply chuckled at them.

"Thought I'd come back to see how you were doing before heading into the studio for the next segment of Welcome to Night Vale," Cecil said. "You guys will be remembered as heroes!"

"How? The missing people aren't missing anymore, and the rest of the town won't remember them either," Dean stated.

Cecil tapped his chin a few times, mulling over that. "Well, Carlos, Gabby, and I will always remember your courageous efforts," he said with a smile.

Dean sat up a little straighter. "Oh, yeah, where is Gabby?"

"I took her home last night, after you two crash-landed into the land of Nod. Oh!" he said, and suddenly started patting himself down, looking for something. Finally in his back pocket he pulled out a folded piece of paper. "She wanted me to give you this."

Castiel eyed the paper curiously. He was even more intrigued when Dean opened the paper and his cheeks flushed red, his eyebrows arched high. "She gave me her _number_?"

"Congratulations, you got a girl's phone number for being yourself," Cas said, the sarcasm even more hilarious considering he said it completely somber voice.

Dean couldn't help the laughter after that. He laughed long and loud, doubling over in the chair as he fought to breathe. He was relieved the hunt went well; Cas got his first soul, and Dean got a girl's number pretty much by accident. He laughed until he shifted his weight, and a moan of pain replaced the laughter. "Ow," he moaned, hand on his leg.

Carlos, who had gone over to another table and was tinkering with a series of tubes and burners and various beakers of different liquids, looked at them. "Now, I know that last night was a little hectic, but try to remember you medical spells next time, Castiel. Those would have saved Dean a lot of pain and grief."

Castiel whipped around and gave Carlos a hard stare, making the scientist shuffle uncomfortably. "I'm not accusing you of anything. I'm just saying, remember next time, okay?"

Dean looked at Castiel with surprise and a touch of hurt on his face. "You could've healed me?" he asked.

Castiel shook his head. "What are you talking about?" he demanded of Carlos. He sounded almost angry. "I would never let Dean suffer unnecessary pain!"

Carlos looked over his glasses that them. "You don't know healing magic?"

Castiel shook his head.

Carlos narrowed his eyes at that. "Exactly how long have you two been at the DWMA?" he asked quietly.

Dean and Cas looked at each other. "Two weeks?" Dean asked.

"Two and half," Cas corrected.

"Almost three weeks," Dean said casually.

If Carlos had been holding anything, it would have slipped from his hands and smashed to the floor. Luckily, he was not. Although the look of absolute shock on the scientists face seemed to suggest his jaw was not far from smashing apart on the floor.

"Three WEEKS?!" Carlos was still in shock, and unable to speak, so Cecil spoke in outrage for him. "Normally you don't leave the Academy until three _months_!"

"Like I said, Hunter, and Cas is a warrior monk," Dean explained, motioning to themselves.

Castiel rubbed his temple. "For the last time, I'm not a monk," he said in exasperation.

"Even if you have fighting experience, Death sent you into the field with no knowledge of basic healing magics? There's no reason for that sort of recklessness!" Carlos said.

"Well, obviously he figured we could handle ourselves. Which, we did," Dean said. "Yeah, I've got a new scare to add to the collection, but we're alive. Gabby's alive. Everything's fine."

"Why are you not angry about this?" Castiel demanded of his partner.

"What's the point? We're alive, we're not crippled, and people are alive. That's a win in my book no matter if you're a Hunter or a Meister."

This apparently was not appeasing Castiel one bit. The guilt he felt churned his stomach, and the idea that Dean had suffered unnecessary pain made him see red with anger. If Death had let them continue their lessons for a little while longer…Castiel's hand clenched into a fist. He very rarely felt anger, but he could feel it now: fast and sharp and so hot it burned.

Dean's hand ruffled his hair, almost immediately snapping him from his anger. "Cas, don't beat yourself up over this. Honestly, I've had worse," he said, smiling.

Castiel felt the anger slip away from him as he looked at Dean smiling so genuinely. "I'm still going to give Death a piece of my mind," the weapon grumbled.

"Sick him, Cas," Dean joked.

* * *

Dean leaned against the car, and winced as his leg throbbed. He almost regretted not letting Carlos teach Cas basic healing medicine and practicing on him. Almost. He liked Cas well enough, but he wasn't sure he trusted him enough to not accidentally break something. So, Dean had another scar to add to the collection that, in many respects, he was too young to have.

For what must have been the twelfth time, Dean pulled out the little slip of paper with Gabby's number on it. He wasn't really sure what to do about the paper, if he had an honest moment with himself. Dean had been trying to get Meg's number for the past few weeks, and suddenly another girl just gives him her number out of the blue.

"She probably just wants to thank you for saving her life," Castiel said somberly, walking up to the car and leaning against the hood next to Dean. "We were unconscious at the time, remember?"

"Yeah, I know," Dean said, using a smirk to cover up his nervousness.

"You could just _talk_ to her," the weapon suggested.

"About what? What a crazy-ass town she lives in? I don't know. I just…I'm not exactly sure what to do with it. Not sure if I 'like' her like that," Dean said. Cas glanced at Dean. "You do know you can talk to someone without being interested in them, right?" the weapon felt the need to point out.

"Thank you, Professor Obvious," Dean mumbled. He shoved the paper back into his pocket, deciding that he was going to deal with it later.

They looked up at the sky, which was the same ebony color as last night's sky, clear without a cloud to dim the starlight. Carlos and Cecil had been kind enough to change Dean's bandages and buy them each a small pizza for dinner. Both boys inhaled their respective pies (they hadn't eaten in almost 24 hours thanks to the kishin fight), and profusely thanked the pair.

"This place doesn't seem so bad," Dean said, and the last word had not even left his mouth when his eyes grew wide up at the sky. A dark figure flew by, off in the distance. It had to have been a low-flying plane, but Dean could have sworn it had large wings and multiple heads….

Castiel waved at the apparition. "Hello, Mr. McDaniel's!" he said. The shape disappeared, and Dean turned to see Castiel grinning again.

"Come on, let's leave this looney bin," Dean said. He huffed as another wave of pain radiated up from the gash, but it was significantly lessened now that he had taken several pain-killers. Apparently Cas had also taken a few from Carlos for his shoulder, but Dean pretended not to notice.

The drive back to the Academy was quiet, traveling again on the road with no other traffic. The town of Night Vale shrank in their back window, until it was nothing more than a really bizarre memory, and a scar to go with it.


	16. Chapter 16

_He was spending the weekend hunting with Uncle Rufus, and it was the first time he was the leading the hunt. He was given the reigns, taking in the clues, the reports, and putting it all together. Rufus guided his deductions, and helped get witness testimony for the teenager, but the hunt was mostly in Dean's capable hands. _

_It was a werewolf. His first, and actually the first for Rufus in almost 20 years. _

_Everything up to the actual ganking of the monster was smooth. _

_When he stabbed the silver knife through the werewolf's heart, and jerked it back out, that he realized something was different. Along with the blood that poured from the wound, there was…light? Red light, like the flicker of a flame. Dean never heard of anything like that before, but he noticed Rufus did not react to the light. _

_So, it was not a werewolf thing. It was a Dean thing. _

_After a few more monsters (a ghost, a rugaru, a demonic possession) he saw that same red flicker of light. No matter if they were on fire or disintegrated or were a cloud of black smoke sent back to Hell—there was always that flickering orb. Usually it looked like the monster, almost like a shadow of light, but no one ever saw it. Never Bobby, or Ellen, or Rufus. When he told his parents, they shared a concerned glance when they thought he could not see it. Dean started to think he was going crazy, hallucinating the lights. _

_After a few weeks of questioning everything he was seeing, of keeping secrets from his parents for the first time in his life, answers finally came. They came in the form of a red-headed man in a black suit who introduced himself as "Spirit Alban." Somehow, he knew about Dean's visions. It was truly a relief that someone knew what he was going through—that he was not going crazy._

"_You're a meister, Dean. You have the ability to wield certain people who can turn into weapons. Those lights you've been seeing are the souls of the monsters you hunt. However, meisters hunt different monsters. We hunt Kishin-eggs. They are very dangerous creatures, and it is our job to destroy them. I'm here to offer you the chance to come to our Death Weapon Mesiter Academy, to learn how to defeat these monsters and help protect the world."_

_Dean and Spirit sat in Bobby's den, both his mother and father silently watching their son and the red-haired stranger. They were cautious of him, but since he was unaffected by the devil's traps, the holy water, the salt, and the iron chair he was sitting in, the hunters had no real reason to dismiss his words. Dean was still suspicious, but also getting excited at the idea. _

"_What's the difference between us?" Dean asked the scythe. "Hunters and Meisters?"_

"_Well, most monsters that you face are after the physical form of the human. Werewolves want the heart, vampires want the blood, wraiths want the brain, etc. Kishin-eggs, however, devour human _souls_ in order to become the monsters that they do. It takes special training and magics to defeat them. You've been seeing monster souls, which means you have the makings of a powerful meister, Dean. You're special. Once you graduate from the DWMA, you will be able to protect more people. You'll be faster, stronger, and smarter, and your partner will be your lifeline as you will be theirs. This is a rare opportunity for a hunter, Dean. You should take it."_

* * *

Dean's eyes blinked open, breaking free from the memory/dream. His eyes traveled around the tiny bedroom, and he found himself unable to remember actually crashing into the bed last night. _Must have been more exhausted than I thought._

Gentle breathing came from the bunk above him, and a few images from the previous night flickered in his mind. Like them standing in front of Death, after he had congratulated them on the job well done. He didn't remember returning to their apartment though, and he did not remember if Castiel had actually given Death a piece of his mind like he had vowed he would. Considering the sounds of life from the bunk above, Dean assumed that he had not, although the notion was appreciated. _Castiel's a good friend._

* * *

Word spread like wildfire of the students allowed to hunt within a few weeks of orientation, making Dean and Castiel like celebrities. They were allowed to give advice to other students who were about to embark on their own initial hunts. Sid even gave Dean a pass on their private practices for a few extra days so there was less chance of Dean pulling out Carlos' stitches. His leg still hurt, but it was a good pain; the pain of a job well done and he being alive to tell the tale.

Dean and Castiel suddenly found themselves the center of attention for the next few weeks. Girl were suddenly flirting with both of them (much to Castiel's horror—he never actually spoke to any of them, he got too nervous to utter any sound). Guys were suddenly Dean's friends, and for a guy who had never really had many friends, it was a lot of fun. Although Dean did not mean for it to happen, Castiel was slightly forgotten in all the attention, and he ended up spending much of his time for the next few weeks with Sam, Ruby, and Meg.

Meg was perfectly content to share their apartment couch with the quiet and contemplative weapon whenever Dean was off mingling with other students. Since Sam and Ruby were out practicing sparing in the gym more often than not, Meg appreciated the company.

"Dean's out and about again?" Meg asked Castiel, and he nodded, never taking his eyes from the book he was reading. "How come you don't go with him? You're his partner after all, and technically you did all the work on that first kill."

Cas shrugged. "I'm not one for crowds."

Meg teased the hell out of Dean, her sister, and Sam constantly, but she was always a little nicer to Castiel. Despite his nonchalance, she could see he was bothered by Dean's actions.

"If it bugs you this much, talk to him," she offered.

Castiel's blue eyes flickered over towards her for a split second. "….maybe," he said non-committedly.

Meg rolled her eyes at his stubbornness. "Fine. Don't say I didn't try," she said, the harsh words a little softer once she actually said them.

"Um…I never got a chance to say this before," Castiel said, his eyes flickering at her for a second. "Your weapon form is…awesome, as Dean put it."

The lines around Meg's dark brown eyes crinkled as she smiled. "Well, thanks for that, Casanova," she chuckled, though it sounded a little hollow. "But being a shield isn't that impressive."

Cas shook his head in disagreement. When Dean was still healing, Sid had let the two of them into the physical training classes as 'consultants,' and they got to see Sam using Ruby and Meg in their weapon forms. Ruby was a bone-handled bowie knife with a jagged edge (although she was half the length of a machete). Sam wielded her with his right hand, while Meg became a stone-like gauntlet encasing his left arm, flattening out until it was a respectable shield.

Castiel partially wished that he could turn into a shield too.

Meg seemed to see that line of reasoning, even without him saying anything. "Cas," she stated. "If you can't handle the idea of your partner getting hurt, then you should go back home. Right now."

Cas's eyes grew wide when he realized she was being completely serious. No joking tone, no glint of laughter or teasing in her eyes. Meg was being absolutely serious.

"That's not exactly comforting, Meg," he muttered, not looking her in the eyes.

"Sorry, Clarence, but that's the way life is. You need to accept the fact that you two will be hunting kishin-eggs, which are dangerous. People get hurt. People can die. Your partner got a gash on his leg, but he still kept fighting, Cas. Dean's stronger than you seem to give him credit for. You've been on this guilt trip for too long, so either ride it all the way home or get off now."

Interrupting her tirade, Meg's phone starting ringing, playing loudly the chorus from "Don't Fear the Reaper." She looked a bit startled, but jumped up and grabbed the phone as she walked out of the living room towards her and Ruby's room. "Be right back, Cas," she promised as the door to the room closed behind her, leaving Castiel to his thoughts.

His eyes seemed stuck on a faraway place as his mind processed the truth she spoke. Castiel could not help himself but wonder why he felt guilty for Dean getting hurt. He was a weapon, it was his job to kill the monster, and it was Dean's job to protect himself during the fight. Maybe it was the same reason that was feeding his jealousy at all the attention Dean was suddenly finding himself in the middle of. Castiel was afraid of being alone.

Cas had never been close with anyone in his family; in fact the only person he had really seen in the past few years was his brother Raphael. They were the ones who had been training in the abandoned sanctuary, and thus Cas had no friends. Dean was his first friend, and his partner to boot. The weapon was not really sure how friendships worked, but he could not help but be nervous that Dean might find another weapon—a _girl_ weapon—and come back to say "Sorry, Cas, but I finally got the partner I wanted!"

It was obvious to Cas that this was going to happen. He could not protect Dean in their first fight, so obviously Dean would find someone else who could do the job better. The problem was, he did not want that to happen; but he was afraid he was being irrational. _Was it really better for Dean to stay my partner? What if he got seriously hurt on our next hunt?_ Castiel knew he could not handle that pressure, that guilt. A whisper, from the darkest part of his mind, even had the gall to say _You should never have left your family…_

Meg's return snapped Castiel from the dark thoughts, and she looked…contemplative. Her brow was wrinkled in concentration as she came back to sit next to him on the couch.

"Who was that?" he asked, unable to hide his curiosity.

Meg looked at him for a moment, as though she was not sure whether she'd actually tell him.

However, she chuckled. "That was my Dad," she said, shaking her head. "Wanted to tell me that Mondo's wife had their baby safely. Twins, by the sounds of things. However, the background was pretty loud—they must be having one hell of a party."

Castiel raised an eyebrow. "_Mondo_?" he asked.

Meg sighed. "Dad's right hand man. The typical biker who looks like he'd stab you for breathing, but is actually the biggest ball of tattooed fluff known to man."

"Ah, I see," Cas said, though he was not really sure he completely did. "What exactly does your father do?"

Meg's eyes shifted around the apartment, and Castiel's eyes narrowed at her. "We're the only ones here," he said.

"Sorry, force of habit. Um, well, me and Ruby's dad is…well, let's just say he's the leader of one of the most notorious biker gangs in California."

Meg spoke quickly, a combination of nervousness and pride.

"What's the name of your gang?" Castiel asked.

"The Yellow-Eyed Demons," she said, with a little huff. "Not very terrifying sounding, I know. But hey! The Y.E.D. has been infamous for a while though, and if Dad gets his way soon there won't be much in the way of competition for us."

Castiel looked Meg over slowly. Well, the sisters' clothing style made sense, it seemed. His blue eyes locked onto her brown ones, and he stared at her intensely for several seconds. Meg was getting used to Castiel's stares but she quickly looked away this time. "What?"

"You're too nice to be from a notorious biker gang," Castiel stated matter-of-factly.

Meg actually glared at him. "Don't assume you know everything about me, Castiel. Just because I've been nice to you here, at school, doesn't erase the things I've done in the past. That Ruby's done in the past."

"Have you killed anyone?" Castiel immediately asked.

Meg arched her eyebrows at the blunt question. "No, we haven't," she said quietly.

"You were doing what was expected of you from your family," he said. "I can relate," he added.

Meg shook her head, then gave his a lop-sided grin. "You're something else, Castiel. Most people would have run away or called the FBI if I told them that. You just gave me a pass."

Cas shrugged. "You seemed…apologetic," he said.

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Meg realized now why she was developing this little crush of hers on Castiel. He was completely different from what she grew up around. She was used to bar brawls, blood, weapons, colorful swears, and big burly guys on roaring motorcycles. Castiel was the exact opposite of that in every way; Dean reminded her a bit too much of her past, of home. The fact that she was actually getting along with Cas so well was a bit disconcerting, but he was…naively adorable? The fact that he just accepted her questionable past was a big relief, and Meg suddenly felt a lot more comfortable around the weapon. _Maybe Cas will still come around once Dean pulls his head out of his ass,_ she hoped.

"Meg," he said, breaking her reverie.

"Hm?"

"Next time your father calls, tell him to tell Mondo congratulations."

Meg grinned, and patted his arms affectionately. "Sure thing, Clarence."

"How many times do I have to remind you that my name is Castiel?" he asked. If she had not caught the glint of humor in his bright blue eyes she might have gone off on another tangent of nicknames again.

* * *

Dean returned to their apartment later that evening, and found Cas on the couch, eyes staring off into space, brow furrowed in deep concentration. He did not even glance at Dean's appearance, and the hunter immediately knew something was up.

"Hey, Cas, what's up?" he asked. He sat in a chair across from the couch and started taking his boots off. Cas looked at him, obviously torn between saying something and keeping it to himself. That already was making Dean annoyed.

"Spill it, Cas," he said. He leaned back in the chair, watching his weapon partner.

Cas seemed to take a breath and gather himself. "How long are you planning on continuing to see them?" he asked quietly.

"Them?" Dean asked, confusion on his face.

"Your new so-called 'friends'," Cas replied, his words clipped and fast.

Dean was taken aback, but immediately became defensive. "What's got you so worked up? I'm hanging out with some classmates, what's the problem?"

Cas opened his mouth, only to close it again. Everything he wanted to say suddenly sounded petty and childish in his mind.

"Ya know, if its bugs you so much, you're _more than welcome_ to tag along," Dean said, thinking that might placate the weapon from whatever was bothering him.

"I'm not a people person," Cas stated.

"See! You can't get grumpy at me for hanging out with people without you if you refuse to even _try_ and hang out! You can't become a people person without actually interacting with other _people_."

Cas tilted his head slightly. "I've been spending time with Sam, Ruby, and Meg," he said. The _without you_ was unspoken but clearly there.

"Bookworm and company don't count," Dean said.

"I'm comfortable around them," Castiel said.

"Well, if you don't try to hang with other people, you can't know who else you'd be comfortable around either, won't ya?" Dean shot back. His Winchester temper was going to come through if they kept this up much longer.

"Did it ever occur to you that your new friends want nothing to do with me?" Castiel asked quietly. "They like you just fine, you're handsome and interesting. Me? I'm just the quiet, stoic partner with a gravelly voice who burned several people's hands at Orientation. Remember that? People gave me a wide berth after that."

Dean opened his mouth, then shut it quickly. In hindsight, he could now remember the wide paths around Cas as they walked to class, the whispers of other students as they walked past. At the time, Dean had been carefree and oblivious. Now he felt both guilty as hell for not seeing it, and pissed for not sticking up for Cas.

"So…you're mad because I've been hanging out with people who are, what, afraid of you?"

Cas looked at him for a few long seconds, before breaking the stare and saying "Yes," quietly. However, he hesitated too much, and Dean was not letting him off the hook that easily.

"Come on Cas, we're hashing this out right now. If you've got something else to say, spit it out."

Cas's head snapped back up, intense blue eyes looking pissed as hell. Dean could have sworn he felt a crackle of electricity come from the weapon.

"Alright. I wish, if you were going to try and find another partner, that you wouldn't do it behind my back, Dean."

Dean was expecting something, but he was not imagining anything in that particular ballpark. He almost fell out of his chair in utter shock. "Wha—wha—what the _fuck_ are you talking about?" he managed to say, not sure if it was shock or blatant anger that was making him stutter.

"It's the obvious thing to do. I couldn't protect you during our fight with the kishin-egg, so it makes sense you would try and find someone who can do the job properly."

Dean's face was still frozen on his shocked face, but he suddenly was laughing. Laughing so loud, he even slapped his knee in his mirth. The hunter's laughter was infectious, and it was a workout for Cas to not even smile, despite his anger.

"Oh, seriously, Cas? You're _jealous_?" Dean asked, his laughter finally beginning to subside. Getting up, he came over to sit on the couch with Cas, the weapon looking at him wearily.

"Dean, what are you-" Cas's question was cut short when Dean smacked him upside the back of the head. Hard. Cas narrowed his eyes dangerously at the hunter, but Dean glared right back.

"You," Dean said, poking Cas in the chest with every word. "Are. A. DUMBASS."

"I wouldn't do that, Dean," Cas growled. Actually growled.

"I like to live on the edge," Dean shot back, and poked him again. "Look here, Castiel Novak," he said, getting the weapon's full attention. _God, I sound like my Mom_, Dean thought. He remembered how Ellen used this same tone with him or Bobby when she wanted to point out what they were doing or thinking was stupid. It was her job to keep the peace in the house, after all.

"You really think—actually, truly believe-that I would ditch you over a friggin' _gash_? God, do I really come off as that big an asshole to you? Seriously? It's my job to watch out for both you and me, you idjit," he said, channeling Bobby for a moment. "You know what I did without you for years? I hunted monsters, and not a shadow monster with a bad taste in hairdos, either. Ghosts, demons, a rugaru. I killed a friggin' _werewolf_ on my own, Cas, and I'm still breathing. Why are you so hung up on me abandoning you, ditching you for another partner?"

Dean paused his tirade to let Cas answer him, but the weapon would not look at him. Silence reigned for a few moments, and Dean was almost afraid he'd pushed too hard, but he silenced that argument in his head.

"My father is Chuck Novak," he said, seemingly out of nowhere. Dean almost interrupted him, but the look on Cas's face made him close his mouth with an audible clack.

"I had a large family, lots of brothers and sisters, but my older brother Raphael and I were the only ones to be Angel Blades. My father left us when I was barely more than a child, and Raphael raised us himself. Since he and I were the only Angel Blades in the family, he trained me, raised me to be a weapon more than a brother. What is a simple 'gash' to you is an unacceptable failure to him. He would have traded me for a better partner in an instant."

Dean's hand formed a fist while Castiel spoke, slowly tightening up until the veins in his forearm were standing out. Cas looked at him, unsure what was happening.

"Cas," Dean said, voice low and dangerous. "Can I say something and you promise not to be mad?"

"Um, sure?"

"Your brother is a bag of dicks," Dean said firmly. Cas's mouth opened slightly in surprise at that. He felt the anger rise up at Dean's disrespecting his brother. However, he had promised not to be angry, so he ignored the feeling.

"You want to know something, Cas? There's a reason I'm not going to just cut and run from you, and it's got nothing to do with collecting kishin-eggs or hunting monsters or girls or your family or anything. I'm not ditching you because you. Are. My. _Friend_!" Dean said, poking Castiel again to make his point.

"You're my first friend outside of my weird-ass family and our hunting connections, and you think I'm just going to throw that away? Nope, sorry Cas, but you're stuck with me. I know, a real trial considering how—what did you describe me as?—'handsome' and 'interesting' I am."

The last part was no longer angry, but sarcastically teasing, and Cas managed to roll his eyes. They both ignored the blush that crept over the weapon's cheeks as his words were used against him.

"Got it, Castiel? I'm your friend, you're my friend, and we're in this together. We're the dynamic duo. I'm Batman and you're Robin, and nothing's gonna stop us from defending our little slice of Gotham from any kishin-eggs or boogey-men."

"I think I'd be more suited to be Batman, I'm clearly the brains of this outfit," Cas said, striking Dean mutt for several seconds.

"That's harsh, Cas," Dean said with a wounded tone to his voice, although the glint of humor in his green eyes kept Castiel from taking Dean serious. "And to think we're were having a bonding moment."


	17. Chapter 17

A month later, Sam and the girls walked up to the unofficial group booth to find Dean, Cas, and Gabriel already there. After Dean and Castiel's first major argument, Dean found his sudden popularity waning as quickly as it had come. As students started to get their first assignments, Dean and Castiel were no longer so special, and things returned to normal. Dean did admit that all the extra attention had been a major headache, though he'd had fun while it lasted. Now he spent his time with his real friends. Although Gabe was still a tricky pain and Kali was still haughty as all hell, he enjoyed the company.

As Sam and the girls approached, it was obvious that all three were smiling nervously.

"Hey, Sammy!" both Dean and Gabriel said simultaneously and then laughed.

Even their refusal to call him Sam couldn't knock to dopey grin off of his face. "Whatever, jerks," he said, sliding into the booth, next to Gabe and Dean, the girls sitting next to Castiel.

"What's the occasion?" Dean asked, seeing their nervous energy and fidgeting legs.

"We're finally going on our first hunt!" Ruby said, unable to keep it to herself any longer.

Dean reached across the table and shook Sam's hand. "Congrats, man, you're halfway there! After this all we have to do is get you laid, and you'll finally be a real man!"

"You can't talk, hypocrite," Sam said, making an exasperated, irritated, pouting face at him.

Dean held up his hands, like he was shielding himself. "Dude, put the bitchface away, I was only kidding!"

Sam rolled his eyes. "What a jerk," he muttered.

"I'm confident you'll do just fine," Castiel said, smiling at Meg and Ruby.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Clarence," Meg said with a grin and a wink at the weapon.

"Yeah, Sam was taking forever to let us actually get a hunt," Ruby said around her spaghetti.

"I wanted to make sure we were ready for it, deal with it," he said, poking his own bowl of spaghetti, nerves making him no longer hungry.

Dean leaned forward towards Sam, grinning earnestly. "Head up Sam! You guys will be fine. No one else here at this school had me sparring with them every day for a week, and they've lived their own hunts just fine. So, eat up! You're gonna need the energy," Dean said.

"Um, Dean? I think your mother hen is showing," Gabriel said, munching on a candy bar. The hunter sputtered. "Knock it off, Gabriel! Stop being an ass," he grumbled.

Gabriel started laughing, loud and obnoxiously, pointing at Dean. "You…didn't…deny it! Hahaha!" Gabe said, sides starting to hurt from the laughter. Now everyone was in on the fun, except Dean who blinked, then looked away, refusing to acknowledge them. "I hope the kishin egg _eats_ you!" he said, trying to sound as threatening as possible.

It took a few minutes for everyone's laughter to die down to a few remaining chuckles. Sam reached into his bag and pulled out two packets of sugar to put into his coffee. Gabriel grinned. "Ah, Sam, still don't trust me?" the boy asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Absolutely not," Sam said without hesitation.

"I'm hurt, really and truly wounded," Gabriel said in mock sadness.

"Sure, and I'm a two-headed snake," Sam said.

"Do you want to be? Because I can totally make that fantasy of yours come true," Gabriel said seriously. He leaned towards Sam, staring at him intensely, then snapped his fingers right in front of Sam's eyes, making him jump instinctively.

"Darnit, Gabriel!" The boy said, and Gabriel had another long laugh.

"Lighten up, Sammy! Kishin hunting isn't that bad. Just keep your wits about you, and you'll be fine," Gabriel offered in a moment of seriousness.

"You can't give the kid advice when you haven't had the experience yourself," Dean said around a mouthful of pie.

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Who says I haven't?"

"No way," Ruby said, looking to catch him in a lie. "You've got your first already?"

Gabriel shrugged, keeping his trap shut.

"Seriously? When did that happen?" Dean asked.

"Last week," Gabriel said smugly. "Kali's been real impatient when it comes to graduating with top honors. She apparently had the notion in her head that's she's going to turn me into a Death Scythe in less than two years."

"That's a kishin a week, consistently, for two years. Did she consult you about this course of action?" Cas asked the other weapon.

"Hey, it means I get out of here in two years, too, so I'm game. Besides, she promised to buy me all the candy I wanted."

"You're relationship with confections is borderline disturbing," Cas admitted.

"So's your crush on your partner, yet we don't bring that up in public, do we?" Gabe shot back. Castiel fixed his intense star on Gabe, and blue eyes stared into bronze ones for several seconds until Gabe jerked backwards. He looked down under the table, then at Cas accusingly. "_Seriously_, did you just kick me under the table? What are you, _five_?" Yet it was obvious from his joking tone he thought Cas stooping to his level was hilarious.

"Between Castiel and Gabriel, I wonder who would come out on top?" Meg mused to herself.

"Alright, alright," Dean said. "Knock it off. Don't make me separate you to opposite corners of the table!" It was discovered he was the oldest of the group, so he ended playing referee more often than not.

"Not faaaaaiiiir," Gabriel whined. "The opposition has the referee under his sphere of influence! Sam, buddy, back me up here."

Sam's eyes opened wide, and he looked around, baffled. "I'm sorry, I must be hearing things, I thought I heard someone sounding like Gabriel call me 'buddy.'"

"Oh, real mature," Gabriel said sarcastically.

"Sam," Castiel said, getting the other boy's attention. "When and where are you hunting?"

Before Sam could answer, Meg bumped Castiel slightly, her face bright and excited. "You're not going to believe this Clarence! We're actually hunting a kishin egg in _Las Vegas_!"

There was a choking sound, and they looked to see Dean coughing as the water he was drinking got caught in his throat. After a moment of swallowing the liquid, he managed to squeak out "Vegas? You've gotta be kidding me!"

"Something good came out of Sam's obsession with jogging at the crack of dawn," Ruby said. "He managed to snag the assignment as soon as it hit the board."

"You lucky bastard! It's totally not fair! We got the Twilight Zone, Gabe got his imagination-"

"Hey!"

"—and you got friggin' Vegas?! Come on, you've gotta switch with me!" Dean begged.

"No way!" Sam said.

"Oh, come on! I've got the wonder kid who beat me at poker. Me. At Poker!" Dean said, motioning to Castiel. "He'll clean out the entire Strip with that stoic face. Come on, Sam, you're too straight-laced for this assignment!"

As much as Sam was enjoying seeing the older boy sound like he was about to cry at the unfairness of it all, Sam shrugged. "Sorry. Besides, it's not really in Vegas. Not the infamous part, anyway, it's near the outer edge of the city."

"It doesn't matter!" Dean said, slumping in the booth looking depressed. "Vegas…."

Gabriel reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a Snickers and offered it to Dean. "Here. You turn into a whiny little bitch when you're hungry," Gabriel teased. Dean snatched the bar before Gabe could change his mind. "Bite me," Dean grumbled.

"Where at?" Gabriel said, eyebrows wiggling suggestively. Dean's face was priceless, a look of horror and disgust.

"Don't worry, big guy, you aren't my type anyways."

"So," Castiel said loudly to Meg. "When are you leaving?"

"After dinner," she said. "Right, Sam?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah. Hopefully it will only take a few hours to get there, knock off the kishin egg, then either ride back or spend the night in a motel."

"Well, good luck to all of you," Castiel said sincerely, nodding to Meg, Ruby, and Sam. Meg bumped him again with a smile that seemed to light up her chocolate eyes. "We'll be just fine, Castiel."

* * *

The hunt was going smoothly until they actually found the kishin-egg, about to rip someone to pieces in a dark alley. The middle aged guy was on his back, trying to fend off the approaching monster, shock and terror preventing him from yelling out.

"Hey! Asshole!" Ruby yelled, and the monster froze in its steps. Its head craned around unnaturally, and Sam suddenly felt his heart jump into his throat. The kishin was in a bizarre black and white costume, but its face was deathly white, with blue circles around its white eyes, and the red splotch on is nice and smeared across its mouth was no make-up. It was blood. It smiled at them, and huge, jagged shark's teeth filled that hellish smile.

"_Cl-cl-clown!_" Sam said, terror gripping him tight and not letting go. Meg and Ruby looked at their meister, eyes suddenly wide when they realized Sam was no longer next to them, but was running the opposite direction as fast as humanly possible.

"Sam! Shit, run, Ruby!" Meg hissed, following after her meister, her face burning with embarrassment and exertion. She glanced over her shoulder to see the guy was running away from the alley, too, but the kishin-egg was gone. That sent a shiver down her spine.

Two blocks later, and Meg almost ran past them, but Ruby grabbed her and pulled her into an alley with Sam. The boy was only barely taller than them, but he looked so much smaller when he was gripped in absolute fear. He was leaning against the wall and doubled over, hands on his knees supporting him as he tried to get his breath back.

"Sam—you mind filling—us in—on what the hell that was?!" Meg demanded between pants. She spoke in a whisper, just in case the thing had followed them.

"Sam, you _ran_ from our first kishin-egg!" Ruby hissed accusingly. Sam held up a hand to make them quiet for a moment. "It was—a—clown!" he panted, voice going an octave higher when he said what it was.

"No shit," Ruby whispered.

Realization hit Meg suddenly, but she couldn't believe it. "No, please don't tell me you're-"

"Terrified of clowns?" Sam offered sheepishly.

Ruby rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "That's ridiculous; we don't have time for this! That thing is going be on our butts any second. So suck it up, partner, and let's kill this thing!"

Before Sam could even shake his head in exasperation—how do you get someone understand your _sheer terror_?—there was a maniacal laughter from the other end of the alley, and there it was, standing about 50 feet away, leering at the three teenagers.

Sam squeaked, legitimately squeaked in horror, as the monster took a few menacing steps towards them. The things head actually spun around 180 degrees, and Sam almost passed out.

While Ruby stood there, looking unsure between Sam and the kishin-egg, Meg took a chance and shook Sam vigorously, trying to snap him from his horror. "Sam! SAM! Wake up, you idiot!" she snarled, but Sam's eyes were frozen wide, and his face was deathly pale. Without hesitation, she hauled back and smacked him across the face, hard.

That woke him up, and he looked down at Meg, rubbing his burning cheek. "Ow, Meg, what the hell?!"

"Get it together, cowboy, we've got a job to finish!" she said sternly. Without warning, both she and Ruby suddenly changed into their weapon forms amid a flash of light. Ruby's Demon Knife form was in Sam's right hand, and Meg's Shield was encasing his left. He looked at his partners, then at the clown monster, which was only about 20 feet away now. It licked its lips at Sam, who was still trembling uncontrollably.

_Remember our training, Sam!_ Meg's voice said in his mind.

_This ugly ass monster will be a piece of cake!_ Ruby said.

He looked up, and took a deep breath to calm himself. "Okay, okay, I've got this, I've got this."

The clown suddenly was flying—_flying_—at him, arms out with claws for fingers, ready to rip the boy to shreds. Sam yelped and ducked at the same time, and the clown missed him. He managed to dig Ruby into the kishin's side as it flew past, and an unearthly howl erupted from the monster, its blood spilling to the ground.

Sam backed down the alley, and the monster leapt at him again, trying to slash at him with his claws. Sam managed to raise the shielded gauntlet in time, and the claws bounced off, but his arm was bruised from the impact. "Ow, shit!" Sam yelped. "Meg you okay?!"

_That hurt like hell,_ Meg said. _But I'm fine. Just kill this thing, already! _

He used the shield to dodge another blow, the clown now looking angry that Sam was still alive. It hauled back its left arm and hit Sam right in the gut, sending him flying into the brick wall behind him. Pain ricocheted along his back and chest, knocking the breath from him. Sam fell limply to the dirty pavement, his right side hurting so bad he almost could not think. _Must have broken a rib or two, _he thought_,_ but aloud he moaned.

The knife was several feet away, Ruby's face looking out from the blade in horror. _Sam!_ She called out in his mind.

The clown kishin suddenly grabbed Sam around the neck and picked him up effortlessly and pinned him to the wall. His feet were dangling at least a foot off the ground.

The thing let out a terrifying howl of laughter mere inches from his face, and Sam almost had the mind to piss himself right then and there, but the claws cutting off his air. He pulled at the hand as much as possible, gasped for breathe. Blackness started to swirl into his vision as the lack of oxygen started to cause him to lose consciousness.

_SAM!_ Meg roared, and a huge jolt of energy shot through his system, causing him to yelp. Without thinking, he raised his gauntlet –protected arm and brought it down, hard, on the clown's arm, causing it to drop him with a roar of pain. Pain shot through his side at the hard impact, but he was able to ignore it for a few precious seconds to scramble away and snatch up Ruby.

The kishin-egg whipped around and lunged forward, it's snapping jaws full of jagged teeth going for Sam's exposed neck. He ducked low and used its momentum against it. With the shield, he carried the kishin over his body and slammed it into the ground behind him, stunning it for a few precious seconds. Sam whipped around and showed Ruby downward, plunging the knife into the kishin's chest. He twisted it for good measure, and ripped the blade back out savagely.

He managed to stagger a few steps back and watch the kishin start to unravel, a stunned look on its bloodied face. It then burst apart in a cloud of shadows, and a red ball of light was left floating in its stead.

Ruby and Meg rematerialized beside him, both looking exhausted, though Meg was shaking and had a horrific bruise on her face. "Ow," she moaned, hand cupping her face gently.

Sam gently grabbed her chin and turned her head, letting him see the wound. "Are you okay?" he asked.

She smiled, but immediately regretted it. "Yeah, boss, I'm fine. What about you?"

Sam was hunched over slightly, his right arm curled around his abdomen and his hissed in pain every time he had to breath. He swallowed, trying to keep himself from vomiting as pain like lightning lazily licked its way up and down his chest. His bangs were plastered to his forehead from sweat, and his clothes were covered in muck.

Ruby wrapped her arm around his waist, trying to hold him up. However, she could not help her enthusiasm. "We did it!" Ruby said, sounding more incredulous than was healthy. "We actually killed it!"

"If I didn't know any better I'd think you weren't sure we would," Sam chided. She huffed.

"Well, it's sorta hard to kill something when you're running away from it at warp speed, don't cha think?" she teased.

Sam ran his fingers through his hair, an embarrassed blush creeping up his cheeks. "Shut up," he mumbled, then moaned. "Ow, shit, that hurts."

"Who gets first dibs?" Meg asked. Since there was only one egg and two weapons, it was up to Sam to see who ate the first egg. After looking at them, he pointed to Meg. "All yours!"

"What! I did all the work!" Ruby whined.

"Yeah, and Meg took all the hits," Sam said, while motioning for Meg to eat it. A little smugly, she grabbed the squishy egg and swallowed it quickly.

Both Sam and Ruby watched her. "What did it taste like?" Sam asked.

Meg thought about it for a second. "It felt like I was eating a giant tapioca ball of lightning."

"What a shocking revelation," Ruby said with a smirk.

Before Meg could chide her sister on terrible puns, there was the sound of a throat being cleared coming from the alley behind them. Sam whipped around, immediately stepping in front of the girls to protect them, groaning from the movement.

Standing about 10 feet away was a man, about Sam's height but of a stockier build, and short brown hair. He was dressed in black slacks and a black button-down shirt, the sleeves rolled up to the elbows. He had red suspenders and a red tie as well, and he had the air of "smug businessman" radiating from him, though he was currently scowling at them.

What really got Sam's attention was the large black dog standing next to him. Its head was just above his waist, but its' eyes were glowing red. Sam immediately felt his brow break into a cold sweat. That thing looked big enough to eat him and still be hungry for seconds.

"Congrats, boy, you've offed your first kishin," he said with a Scottish accent. "Do you feel tingly in your nethers?"

Sam's mouth open and closed a few times, unsure how to even respond. He decided to go with a safe: "Who are you?"

"We," he said motioning to him and the hound, "were the ones who were one that kishin's trail. And _we_ were the ones who were supposed to get that egg, until some moron stole it!" he barked, and the dog lowered its head slightly to growl at the three students.

"Your egg?" Ruby asked, although it sounded more incredulous.

"Yes, mine. What, is there an echo here? I was doing just fine until you idiots showed up and distracted it!"

Meg scoffed. "You're a meister?"

"The DWMA doesn't send multiple students on a single kishin-egg. So what are you really?" Sam asked.

The man glared at them. "You think the DWMA controls everything? Oh, that's cute. I don't need to go to some fancy Academy to kill kishin-eggs. I've been doing fine my own. You," he pointed at Meg. "You owe me an egg!" he snapped.

"So what, you're a rogue meister?" Ruby asked.

He switched his gaze to her. "Call me what you what, still doesn't change the fact that you stole my egg."

"Look," Sam said, deciding that a peaceful solution should be attempted. "We didn't know. We got the assignment, we came here. We didn't mean to intrude. I'm Sam, and this is Meg and Ruby. We're sorry." He held out his hand, and tried not to wince when his ribs protested.

The man glared at him, but didn't move forward to take it. After a moment, Sam let it fall to his side. The man rolled his eyes.

"Oh, for the love of—fine! It's Crowley, okay? Stop with the wounded puppy eyes already," he muttered.

"Okay, Crowley, if you're a meister, where's your partner?" Ruby asked smugly, thinking she had caught him in his lie.

Instead, he smirked, and ruffled the top of the dog's head between its ears.

"Oh come on. That's impossible," Meg said.

"For you lot, maybe. You can do all sorts of things when the Grim Reaper isn't breathing down your neck. Must be a pain in the arse."

"Why a dog?" Sam asked, curiosity getting the best of him. "_How_ a dog?"

"Loyalty, courage, no back sass. There's a reason they're called man's best friend. As for the how? A magician doesn't reveal his secrets." Crowley was obviously enjoying showing off, if his eternal smirk was any indication.

"So, you're Crowley and he's….?"

"Growly," the man said fondly, scratching the dog's ear. Seeing the surprised look on their faces, he rolled his eyes and huffed. "I know. I'm an inconceivable wit. Done staring now? Good, because as much as I'd love to continue this lively banter," he said, looking him and Meg. "You and your friends look like shit warmed over. Might want to get that rib checked out sooner rather than later."

Sam looked at Meg and immediately felt guilty when he saw how pale and worn out she looked, even after eating the kishin-egg. Never mind that Sam was suffering some serious rib breakage and clown-inspired PTSD.

Crowley had distracted them long enough; however when he looked back, Crowley and Growly were gone.

"What the-?" he said.

"Where the hell is he?" Meg demanded.

"I don't know, but I'd like a shower, for the love of God," Ruby said. "You weren't the one shoved into a monster's chest. I'm starting to think I got the short straw of this partnership."

Meg and Ruby helped support him as they made their way back to their hotel. Sam couldn't help but look back and wonder about the strange duo. _Wonder if we'll meet again?_


	18. Chapter 18

The hotel was about ten blocks from the alley; it was one of those dingy places with a ridiculous theme for the wallpaper and mismatched furniture from years of wear. Sam was really glad they'd already purchased a room for the night, even if the room had horribly tacky fish wallpaper, and plastic singing bass for room decoration. When they dragged themselves into the room, almost collapsing from exhaustion, Sam smiled at the horrendous décor. "Home sweet home," he said, a painful chuckle escaping him.

"He's worse than we thought," Ruby said seriously. The girls managed to carefully perch Sam on the end of one of the two queen-sized beds. He moaned involuntarily.

Despite how tired the girls looked, they couldn't let him suffer for much longer. They removed their jackets and shoes, and helped Sam out of his shoes and jacket. "I think, if you lay down, we can try the healing spell," Meg said, Ruby nodding.

Sam took a breath (not too deep because it would make his ribs hurt again), and bit his lip to not cry out when he finally managed to lay on his back. If he was in less pain, he might have felt really awkward with Meg and Ruby on their knees next to the bed. They held hands, and Meg gently pushed up Sam's t-shirt to reveal the black and blue bruises across his ribs. Each sister gently placed a hand on the ribs, and Sam hissed again. At least their hands were cool, in contrast to the swollen area they were touching.

"Just…try not to break anything else," he said, trying to make a joke, and failing horribly.

"Your confidence is overwhelming," Meg said snidely. They did not need him to remind them they had never tried the spell before, and that they could hurt Sam further if they screwed it up.

Meg and Ruby closed their eyes and started to concentrate. They opened their energy pathways, and started passing bursts of energy to Sam. They tried to imagine the rib becoming fixed, and their energy started to knit together the bones in his chest. Unfortunately, Sam couldn't help but groan out in pain, and his fists clenched into the blanket under him as he tried to hold still. The pain both grew and dissipated while the girls healed him, coming and going in bursts. Their foreheads were covered in sweat, and Sam knew his voice was going to be wrecked from crying out in pain, despite clenching his teeth to try and keep quiet.

The pain suddenly stopped. Well, sort of. Instead of a piercing pain it was now a dull ache, a bruise but nothing more. The ribs were healed.

The girl's opened their eyes and looked about to pass out. They were both ashen, with bloodshot eyes and chapped lips. "You look marginally better," Meg said.

"Thank you," Sam said, as sincerely as possible. He sat up slowly, and was glad to see he could move without feeling like he was on the receiving end of a lightning bolt. He went to the mini-fridge and grabbed three bottles of water, handing one to each sister. Ruby gulped hers down instantly. Meg took a few sips, then closed replaced the lid and held the cool bottle against the bruise on her face. She sighed in relief. "You sure know how to show a girl a good time," she joked.

Sam pulled himself up on the bed, his back leaning against the headboard, his eyes fluttering closed. "I'm so sorry," he said, managing to crack open an eye at Meg, who looked like she was about to pass out still sitting on the floor, her arms and head on the bed. She looked at him and waved him off. "We're alive. A few bruises aren't a big deal."

"No," Sam tried to say adamantly, though it sounded more like a whine from the bone deep exhaustion. "I should—*_yawn_*—have done better to protect you two."

"Shut up, Sam," Ruby said. She crawled onto Sam's bed and curled up next to him, curling around one of his pillows.

"Get in your own bed, it's why we got two," Sam protested sleepily.

"Too far away," Ruby mumbled. "Anyways, Sam, don't—*_yawn_*—freak out anymore. You…did…fine…for a nerd…zzzzzzz." He looked over to see she was fast asleep.

Sam patted Meg on the shoulder, waking her up. "Come on, sleepyhead," he mumbled, and scooted over to allow Meg to stretch out and fall asleep on his other side. The three of them sleep soundly, curled together in a protective lump.

* * *

Sam jerked up, a gasp of horror on his lips as he sat up from the bed. He sat there for a few moments breathing heavily, his heart racing so fast in his chest it almost hurt. Flashes of the clown-kishin's grinning maw flickered in his mind, and he shuddered.

Ruby was suddenly in front of him, sitting on the bed and shaking his shoulders gently. "Hey, Sam, snap out of it." He blinked a few times and focused on his partner. Her dark brown/almost black eyes were brimming with concern, where normally she was withdrawn and cool. "Are you alright?" she asked quietly.

Sam sat up fully, and winced when his bruised chest sent a dull throb through him. He ran his fingers through his hair to get it out of his face. He looked at Ruby, and noticed her hair was wet and straight, and her clothes were changed. In fact, he could hear the shower in the other room, and the smell of strong coffee assaulted his nose.

"You let me sleep in," he said, almost in an accusing tone. Mostly because he was always the first one up, and usually had to drag the girls from their beds in order to get to class on time.

"Yeah, well, you were tossing and turning all night," she stated. "Thought you could use a little more shut eye."

Suddenly, Sam's eyes widened, and his face started to change from pale to cherry red, the blush taking over his face.

"What, what's wrong?" Ruby asked. She looked at Sam's face (well, he had hidden it in the crook of his elbow). "Ooooh, are you freaking out because you slept in the same bed with two beautiful girls?"

Sam poked his head out enough to glare at her.

Ruby laughed loudly. "Oh, that's rich! You're so cute when you're embarrassed. But you should totally tell Dean you slept with us; I bet he'd die from jealously!"

Sam scowled at her, but he grinned when he imagined Dean's shocked face. "You know what? That's a great idea! He deserves it."

Ruby smacked his arm in solidarity. "That's the spirit! But, are you feeling better now?"

Though the dream was just a dream, the feel of the kishin's teeth clamping around his neck was still too real to shake off. The teeth tearing into his neck, the gush of warmth over his chest as his blood ran from his torn jugular; he could still feel those phantoms pains. However, he looked at his partner and nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'll be okay. I didn't keep you up did you?"

"I slept like a log. I think Meg heard you more than anything, but she seems to be feeling fine, so you must not have been too loud." Ruby walked over to tiny table with a single cup coffee maker, and a minute later brought him a Styrofoam cup. The mocha-colored liquid inside was still steaming and warmed his hands. "Thanks," he said, still not looking at her. He tried not to imagine his two female partners curled up around him, tried not to think about how beautiful and cool he thought they were or anything. Sam had managed to forget he lived with two girls for the past few months, but suddenly realizing he'd slept in the same bed with them….

He carefully placed a pillow on his lap and prayed to whatever deity was listening that Ruby wouldn't question it. He started drinking his coffee slowly, and wished fervently Meg would get out of the bathroom soon.

Something answered him, because Meg came out from the bathroom, fluffing her hair with a towel, the wavy locks like ink running down her back. Her face was less swollen, the bruise concentrated around her right eye, but was now more yellow than blue. It matched her tank-top, and her black jeans finished her ensemble. She looked at her sister, than at Sam, who was staring resolutely at his coffee.

"How are you feeling, Sam?" Meg asked. She walked over and changed the filter to make her own coffee.

"I'm okay. And thank you, again," he said somberly. She waved him off.

He rolled out of the bed, grabbed his duffel, and stole the bathroom. The water was almost cold in the shower, but he did not care. He just wanted to wash away the blood, the sweat, and the failure. Yes, the kishin was killed, and yes, he and the girls were fine. But they had to heal him on the first hunt, and he was not proud of that fact. _I need to become stronger. I need to make the three of us so strong no kishin on earth can stand before us. That's what we need to do._

When he came out a few minutes later, dressed in a clean shirt and jeans, both Meg and Ruby were sitting on their bed, both leaning close together, a cell phone between them so they both could hear whomever was talking.

"Of course, Dad, we're fine," Ruby said, rolling her eyes. Sam could hear a tiny voice from the phone, but could not make out any words. He quietly walked around their room to pack and finish getting dressed as silently as possible.

"Yes, Meg protected me. We actually healed our partner's broken rib with no problems!" Ruby said.

"We're didn't get hurt Dad," Meg reassured the voice quickly, while glaring at Ruby. "Yes, yes, yeah Dad, I know! Oh, and my friend Castiel says to pass along his congrats to Mondo. Now, we've gotta go Dad. Yes, Dad, we promise. Love you too, Bye."

The second the phone call was over Meg smacked Ruby on the back of the head. "Stupid! Don't mention the mojo to him! You know he doesn't like weapon talk."

"You didn't have to resort to violence," Ruby pouted, rubbing her head.

Sam could not help but interrupt. "Your Dad doesn't know you're weapons?"

Meg scoffed. "Oh, no, he knows. He just doesn't like the idea. Any talk of magic freaks him out, so we keep quiet. He likes to pretend we're at a school for badassery, but not what kind."

"That sounds unhealthy," Sam offered.

"Hey, Sam, what about your folks?" Ruby asked. "I mean, I've never seen you call anyone before, and having a successful kishin kill under your belt is something to phone home about, don't you think?"

Sam was on the other bed, pulling on his shoes. He did not look at the girls, but there was suddenly tension in the room were a moment ago there was none.

"You…have a family…don't you Sam?" Meg asked.

Sam looked at them from the corner of his eyes, and narrowed them slightly. It was a look of incredible sadness, but also barely-held in anger. He bit his lip and looked away, but said quietly "Just…don't bring it up again, okay?"

The girls looked at each other, eyes wide. Ruby shrugged.

He stood up and turned around, a small smile on his lips, but an unfathomable sadness in his hazel eyes. "Come on, you two, let's go get some breakfast. I'm starving, aren't you?" he with false cheerfulness.

Meg's stomach rumbled loudly, and the awkward tension in the air dissipated as the girl's finished getting dressed and packing their bags.

"Let's go for pancakes," Ruby suggested. Sam shrugged and Meg agreed, pancakes were the perfect post kishin-hunt breakfast. They gravitated to the red and black Kawasaki motorcycles parked in front of the motel room. Ruby hopped on her bike and it roared to life; Meg got onto the other one and Sam hesitated for a few seconds before wrapping his arms around her waist as he settled behind her. Luckily when the girls came to the DWMA they packed an extra helmet, and it fit Sam with a little room for growth.

The bike roared to life and he clung to the girl's body, trying not to come off as attempting to cop a feel while trying to stay on the bike. His rib was not exactly happy with the speed at which Meg drove, but he hung on for dear life, the roar of the engine between his legs vibrating his whole body. He just wanted to get back to school and relax.


	19. Chapter 19

Sam, Ruby, and Meg dragged themselves into the cafeteria in the early evening. The long drive back, the debriefing by Lord Death, and the trip to the infirmary to make sure both Sam's rib and Meg's face were healing properly had taken up most of the day. The teenagers were tired and starving, yet they managed to perk up when they spotted Dean and Cas in the usual oversized booth they usually sat at.

Dean's face broke into a huge grin when he saw them approaching. "Guys! How did it go?" he asked, excited like a child on Christmas. Sam slide tiredly into the booth next to Dean, and the girls sat on the other side with Castiel.

Seeing their shoulders slumped and the fading bruise on Meg's face, Dean's grin faltered. "So, how bad does the other guy look?" he tried to joke, but the concern was there.

"Well," Sam said, sighing heavily. "Could've been better, though. Broke my rib, but Meg and Ruby were able to patch me up."

Dean's eyes grew wide, and he grabbed Sam's shirt and lifted it up, ignoring Sam's sputtering protests and seeing the colorful patchwork bruise of purple, blue, and yellow.

"Jesus, Dean!" Sam said indignantly, shoving his shirt back down, cheeks red.

"Holy hell, Sam. Are you sure you're alright?"

"The nurses okayed us," Ruby said. "Stop molesting my partner, or get a room."

While Dean accosted Sam, Castiel gripped Meg's chin and gently turned her face towards his, his blue gaze wandering over the fading bruise on her face. He looked immeasurably disturbed by the injury. Meg gently pulled away. "I know, not exactly my best look. Sam took the brunt of the kishin's anger, though."

She was not used to be fussed over, that was usually reserved for Ruby since she was the youngest. When his intense staring got to her, she said more forcefully "I'm _fine_, Castiel. I promise. You should've seen the kishin-egg," she said with bravado and smiled.

He simply nodded, and let her go. When he turned back to the table to see Ruby was laughing loudly, Sam had slumped over, his head on his arms, and Dean was trying gallantly not to laugh.

"So, let me get this straight…the first kishin you fought was a clown? And you have a…pfft…a clown _phobia_?"

"He _ran_!" Ruby gaffed, tears running down her face. "We turned around and he was _gone_. Two blocks away!"

"Shut up Ruby!" Sam's muffled voice tried to command. The effect was lost when his ears started to turn beet red.

Dean slapped him on the back, laughing now. "Oh, God's gotta sense of humor doesn't he? Ha! So what is it, the red nose or the big shoes that scare the hell out of you?"

"It's not like that; just leave it alone," Sam moaned. Dean patted him reassuringly, saying between dying chuckles, "Okay, okay, I'm done."

Just then, Gabriel arrived, sans Kali. As he walked over towards the table he called out cheerfully, "Hey! Winchester!"

Dean leaned forward and Sam looked up. "What, Gabriel?" they asked in tandem.

There was a beat of silence, until they looked at each other, eyes narrowed at the other boy.

"I thought he was talking to me?" Dean asked.

"So did I," Sam answered, eyes growing wide. He sat up, and slumped against the back of the booth, looking at Dean.

Dean said "But he said Winchester, which is-"

"—My last name," Sam finished. They looked at each other.

Dean put his hand on his chest, green eyes watching Sam closely. "Dean Winchester."

Sam pointed to himself. "Sam Winchester."

They gawked at each other for a few seconds. Gabe walked up, then looked at Sam and Dean who were staring at each other. "What are they doing?" he asked, standing at the table awkwardly.

For an answer, Ruby moved over and patted wait little space there was for him to sit. "Things just got interesting," Meg whispered to the boy with a little chuckle.

Castiel leaned forward. "Usually when people share a last name they're a related. Is that true for you as well?" he said somberly.

Ruby looked at him. "No shit, Cas!" she trailed off, then looked at them. Neither had moved, still frozen in surprise. "_Are_ you two related?" she asked.

"People can have the same last name, and not be related," Sam said, rattling off that fact but not really buying into it. Apparently Dean did not either, because he scoffed. "Dude, this isn't 'Smith' or 'Johnson'. Winchester is a freakin' weird name for two random people to have!" Dean ran both hands through his hair, trying to keep from freaking out. "Who are you?" he asked.

"I could ask the same thing!" Sam said, running one hair through his hair, mirroring the movement.

"My parents are Bobby and Ellen Winchester, what about yours?" Dean demanded.

Sam visibly relaxed a little. "See? Must be a coincidence. My mom was Mary and my…my father was John Winchester."

He looked at Dean, expecting him to be laughing at the weird coincidence of the names, but he instead clenched his teeth and swallowed.

Dean looked at him, really stared at him for a few long moments, and Sam felt like he was talking to Castiel. Dean's face was a little paler as he asked "You mean, John, as in _Uncle_ John? Holy shit, Sammy," he said. "You're my _cousin_!"

Ruby looked over at Gabriel to see his amber eyes were locked onto the boys, watching them intently while eating Milk Duds from a box in his hand. "Where did you get those?" Ruby whispered.

Gabriel put a finger over his lips. "Shhhhh! Don't interrupt the movie," he whispered back, and offered her some. Ruby passed one to Meg and then one to Castiel. The four of them sucked on their Milk Duds while watching intently the drama unfolding in front of them. Dean and Sam were so wrapped up in their own world they did not seem to realize they had an audience.

"No. No way, no way! You're getting me confused with someone else," Sam said adamantly, crossing his arms.

"No, I'm not! I remember now! I remember chasing you around the scrapyard, playing hide and seek in and around the cars in the junkyard. My Mom tanned our hides because she was afraid we'd get tetanus."

Sam seemed to think about it a few minutes, then shook his head. "No, I don't remember that."

"Well, the last time we saw each other, we were four! What's the earliest thing you remember then?"

Sam was quiet for a few minutes, then shook his head angrily. Without a word he left the booth, Dean hot on his heels, protesting the entire time. Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on! This was just getting good!" he called out after them.

"Sam, wait! Sam, hold on a second," Dean said, following Sam outside onto a patio area. It was a cooler evening, and already night out, so they had the area to themselves. Before them, Death City stretched out, a grid of lights and buildings that was noisy and alive in the warm evening.

Dean grabbed Sam's shoulder and tugged him around so they were facing each other.

"Leave me alone, Dean!" Sam said hotly, shrugging off the hand. Dean scowled at Sam.

"Sam, what the hell? You find out your friend is actually your cousin, you don't just turn tail! You say hi, share a handshake; you don't run away. What's your deal?"

"Stop saying you're my cousin!" Sam snapped. "You don't know me, Dean!"

"Why are you freaking out?" Dean asked.

Sam clenched his jaw, and Dean recognized it, as he saw it in the mirror often enough. Sam turned away, taking deep breathes and jittering with adrenaline.

"You don't know me," Sam repeated. "I don't have family." He whipped around, and Dean saw that Sam's eyes were glistening. "My mom died in a house fire when I was a little kid, and my dad….well, let's just say he wouldn't be winning any parent of the year awards."

Dean's memories of that time were fuzzy, but he had an image in his mind of a happy blonde woman and a man with black hair and a beard. "Sam, I'm-"

"—Sorry? That's nice, but it still doesn't change anything. Just…just leave me alone. Please, just leave me be." Without waiting for Dean's response, Sam rushed off without another word.

"What the HELL Sam?!" Dean snapped, and he kicked one of the patio chairs nearby, sending it crashing into a pile of other furniture. He stomped over to the railing that overlooked the glittering lights of the small city. He wrapped his hands around the railing and squeezed as hard as possible in his frustration. When he drained his strength he let go, and felt vaguely better.

Dean strode back into the cafeteria after a few minutes to find that Meg and Ruby were gone, leaving Gabriel and Cas still seated in the booth. Both gave him looks of curiosity.

"What happened?" Cas asked. Dean sighed in response as he slumped into the seat. "I don't know!" he said in frustration. "He just told me to leave him alone repeatedly. I don't think he believes me, but I know that's my little cousin Sammy. I know it."

"Well, to be fair Dean-o, if I found out I was related to you, I'd run as fast and far as humanly possible," Gabriel said with a smirk.

Dean glowered at the shorter boy. "Screw you, Gabriel."

"Oh, my fine sensibilities!" Gabriel replied in a ridiculously high-pitched voice with a Southern drawl.

"Why does he not believe you?" Cas asked Dean.

Dean shrugged. "I don't know, he said something like 'I don't have any family, it's impossible,' blah, blah, blah. But it's him. Same eyes, same nose, same bitch-face he'd pull when I found him in a particularly good hiding spot. I just couldn't really put that Sam and this one together until I heard about Uncle John. Who, apparently, was an asshole to Sam?" Dean propped his elbows on the table and held his head in his hands. "I don't know what's up anymore."

"Maybe I should go check on Sammy?" Gabriel offered. Both Cas and Dean looked at him with eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What?"

"I don't think that Sam, in his current mindset, needs you playing one of your insufferable tricks on him in an attempt to be humorous," Castiel said stoically.

"Yeah," Dean said. "What Cas said."

Gabriel rolled his eyes as he pulled a lollipop from his jacket pocket. "Relax fellas!" he said. "I don't want to trick him. Just want to talk."

"Why?" Dean asked. "You barely know the guy. And he said for us to leave him alone."

"Well, it seems he told _you_ to leave him alone. I'm off the hook. And I get where Sam's coming from better than most. I've had family come out of the woodwork out of the blue before, and it wasn't pretty."

Dean and Cas shared a look, apparently discussing it via meister/weapon radio. Gabriel fidgeted in his seat, and started playing with his fork, pretending not the notice their little pow-wow.

After a few moments, Dean rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine, fine. Gabe, as long as you promise not to torment Sam, or at least not be a big an ass as you usually are, then you can go talk to him."

"Aw, thanks for the permission, Dean! You've only known Sam was related to you for twenty minutes and you're already become an overprotective idiot about it. Cute."

Dean ground his teeth together in annoyance. "You want his apartment number or not?"

* * *

It was almost midnight before Gabriel actually managed to get to Sam's apartment. He knocked twice, quietly, just in case everyone was sleeping. He heard footsteps on the other side, and a few seconds later the door opened and Sam peered out.

"Gabriel," Sam said, his voice quiet. "What, did Dean send you? I told him to leave me alone. I'm not in the mood."

Gabriel tilted his head slightly and tsked the taller boy. "Sam, Sam, Sam. I came here on my own accord, thank you very much. Thought I'd drop by and see if you wanted to talk."

"I'm fine," Sam said. Gabriel smirked and he pointed past Sam into the apartment. Sam looked to see there was actually a worn path in the rug in the living room behind him.

"Right. And you were wearing a hole in the carpet because you needed the exercise? Well, I hope that's fun. If you wanna talk, I'm free game. I'm more of a neutral party than your other friends, so I'd thought I'd make the offer. But, it's late, so I'll leave you be."

Gabriel bowed his head in goodbye, and walked away. He was almost at the end of the hall when he heard the door close, and turned to see Sam in a jacket walking quickly towards him. He paused to let Sam catch up. "The girls passed out almost as soon as we got back," Sam said. He looked at Gabriel, unsure what to do.

"Let's just go for a walk," Gabriel offered, and Sam nodded silently.

Luckily, a city in which the Grim Reaper was the mayor is one of the safest places to go walking around in the middle of the night. Gabriel and Sam walked up and down the cobblestone paths, sometimes passing another student or adult, but were mostly alone. Gabriel had to walk faster just to keep up with Sam, who seemed lost in his own head. They had been walking for a least 15 minutes before Sam actually spoke.

"So, Gabriel," Sam started, looking down at his feet as he walked. "Why did you want to talk to me?"

Gabriel shrugged casually. "Well, I speak from experience when I say random family members popping back into your life can leave your noodle well and truly scrambled. Thought you'd appreciate having this conversation with someone who can relate."

Sam slowed down his pace, and looked at Gabriel. "Experience?"

Gabriel pulled a box of Raisinets from the inside pocket of his jacket, and offering some to Sam. Sam thought about it, then nodded, and a few of the chocolate-covered raisins fell into his cupped palm. They found an empty bench between streetlights, and sat down in companionable silence, munching on the candies.

"I ran away from home a few years ago," Gabriel started suddenly. Sam turned to him, watching the shorter boy, his face impassive. "Not my best idea ever. To say that my family fights is an understatement; my family makes World War II look like Sunday dinner, and that's a daily occurrence. I couldn't take the fighting, the arguing, the stupidity, so I ran. Found another family who was willing to take me in, and things seemed a lot better. It was probably some of the happiest times of my life. Sure, the new family had their own problems, but I felt like I belonged."

Gabriel's impassive face suddenly darkened, and his amber eyes gained a hard edge to them. "And then, all Hell broke loose. Michael, my oldest brother, found me. Demanded I come back home, back to the family. Told me that no one else was going to be there for me except them. He thought he was doing the right thing, that I belonged with them and needed to learn my place there. Well, I gave him the slip, and managed to make it to the DWMA. I'm safe here. If anything Kali would at least kick his ass for trying to take her weapon, but it's the intention of the thing."

Gabriel turned his face towards Sam, and his eyes softened when he saw the look of sadness and empathy on Sam's face. "I'm so sorry, Gabe," Sam said. For some reason, Gabriel did not mind when Sam used that stupid nickname on him.

"Don't worry about it, Sam-a-lam," Gabriel said, his voice becoming more cheerful. He quickly tucked the personal history back under the mountain of smart-ass remarks and pranks he kept it under. Or, at least he tried to, but Sam looked so sad.

"Don't know which is worse," Sam said with disgust. "A family that won't let you go, or a family that abandoned you."

"You weren't abandoned, Sam," Gabriel started. He held up his hand when Sam glared at him in an accusatory manner. "About 15 minutes after you left the cafeteria, when I offered to talk to you, Dean basically told me he'd kick my ass if I did anything to bother you. He might be your cousin, but he was ready to jump to your defense immediately. That's true family, right there."

Sam made a frustrated sound. "I don't remember Dean, Gabriel! I don't remember having a cousin or aunt or uncle. I wasn't saying that just to piss Dean off; I honestly don't remember. And if I did…" suddenly his eyes grew furious. "Then my father, who told me that I was essentially alone in this world besides him, was even more fucked up than I imagined."

"Extra grande fucked up," Gabriel agreed. "He told you that you had no other family?"

"He never mentioned it, and I never thought to ask."

Gabriel leaned close to Sam, and motioned for him to come closer. "Know the great thing about family, Sam?" he asked in a whisper. Sam was surprised there wasn't a hint of sarcasm to the question. "Family doesn't end and begin with blood alone. Our families sucked, so we'll make our own. Together. You're on a slightly better footing than me because you have some decent family left, however. If Dean's any indication, then his parents must be even cooler, and would probably be ecstatic to see you again.

"So, Sam, I'm not going to bug you about your past, but at least keep in mind that, hey! You've got Ruby, Meg, Dean, Cas, and me with you. Maybe Kali if she gets out of the mud, but five outta six ain't bad," Gabriel said with a genuine smile, and ruffled Sam's hair affectionately.

"Cut it out, Gabe!" Sam moaned, and tried to fix his hair.

Gabriel laughed. "Why bother, Sammy? No one else is here, lest you're trying to look good for little ol' me?" he teased. Sam rolled his eyes.

"Don't flatter yourself," he said, and Sam actually sounded a little more happy.

"So, did my pep talk do the trick?"

Sam thought it over for a moment. "I do feel better. Thank you, Gabe. I guess talking to you actually did help."

"Well, don't sound so surprised! I am a genius, ya know."

Sam suddenly yawned loudly, and shook his head. "Guess that's my cue to head home," he said, standing up. Gabe mirrored him and started following Sam back to his apartment.

"Don't you live in the opposite direction?" Sam asked curiously.

Gabriel grinned. "I'm seeing my duty to you through to the end, Winchester. Don't want your cousin kicking my ass because you managed to catch the attention of the one random mugger in this city."

Sam shrugged, but was secretly glad to have the company. They walked back in silence, Gabe dutifully following him all the way back to his door. "Thanks again, Gabriel," Sam said sincerely.

The weapon grinned. "Don't mention it. Seriously. What I mentioned is just between us, got it?"

Though the tone was joking, Gabriel was quite serious. Sam felt a little honored the boy deemed him fit to carry such a secret. Sam made a cross shape over his heart. "Hope to die," he intoned.

"We don't need to go that far. I was just starting to like you," Gabriel chuckled. "Get some sleep, bookworm! And don't overthink things with Dean. Just do like you've been doing."

Sam nodded, and yawned once again. He waved at Gabriel as he went inside, and Gabriel grinned to himself as the door closed in front of him. As he made his way back to his and Kali's place, Gabriel felt very proud of himself. It was a different feeling to be nice and helpful, instead of the prankster chaos he usually caused others. _Sam's a good guy. I hope he can work past his issues and learn to appreciate the finer things in life. Like good friends and good candy. He eats way too many salads; that can't be healthy._

* * *

Dean's cell phone rang in his pocket, and he turned it on to see a text waiting for him.

_Sam's doing better, just don't remind him you're related. He needs some time to get used to the idea. You owe me something covered in sugar. G_

"How am I supposed to ignore the fact that Sam's my family?!" Dean growled.

Castiel tilted his head at his partner. "If I hit your head with enough force, I might be able to give you amnesia. Would that be preferable?"

Dean blinked a couple times, then looked at his partner with his eyebrows raised. "Um, ya know what? I'm gonna have to decline that offer, Cas. Thanks, though."

"Good," Cas replied, disappearing back over the edge of the top bunk. "There was a greater chance that would have put you in a coma anyway."

"Well, Thanks for the consideration, Cas. Guess that's your way of saying I just have to shut up and deal with it?"

"Mhm."

"Well, you're just a regular bun of fun," Dean grumped, laying down on his own bunk. "Alright, alright, I'll give him some time. But he better come around fast, I can't deal with that angsty, emo-crap for too long."

* * *

**A/N: **Hey everyone! First of all, thanks for reading! Secondly, unfortunately, I won't be able to update daily after this chapter for a while. I've posted all of the story I have saved up, and it's finals/graduation for the next few weeks. Let me survive college and graduation and I'll keep working up chapters when I can. :) Thanks for understanding and the love!


	20. Chapter 20

Sam didn't come around for days, and Dean felt almost unbalanced when he had not seen half of his friends for the better part of a week. Sam didn't speak to him in class or in the gym, and Sam didn't eat in the cafeteria with him and Cas. He hated the fact that Sam was blatantly avoiding him; every instinct in his body wanted to go and make sure his younger cousin was doing okay.

The only thing that helped Dean and Cas deal with Sam's absence were the quick updates Ruby and Meg would still share with them on Sam's mood. Between classes they would say hi, and would sometimes grab a quick coffee with the boys, but they normally stuck with their meister.

Gabriel was around more afterwards, like he had been traded with Sam. Kali didn't speak to anyone too often; she seemed to enjoy her own company more than anyone else's. Gabriel seemed to have attached himself to Dean and Cas out of loneliness.

Gabriel, Dean, and Cas were in the cafeteria almost a week later and eating dinner when there were suddenly three familiar visages walking towards them. Ruby looked vaguely annoyed and Meg had a miniscule smirk turning up the edge of her lips; the girls were followed by a shaggy-haired meister who wasn't looking at the table as they approached.

"Well, well, well, bookworm and company!" Dean said happily. His tone was more enthusiastic than he meant, but he ignored Gabriel's arching his eyebrows at him.

"Hey," Ruby said, sitting next to Gabriel. Meg and Sam sat next to Castiel. "We have names, you know."

"And?" Dean asked with a smirk. Ruby stuck her tongue out at him.

There was a few seconds of awkward tension as Dean and Sam looked at each other. "Sam," Dean said, still grinning, but his tone was more of a question.

"Hey, Dean," Sam said, rubbing his neck, still not really looking at Dean in the eye. "Um…so…"

"Forget it, Sammy," Dean said seriously, waving it away.

Sam actually looked at him, surprise coloring his face. "What?"

"Look, Sam, you've got some issues. That's fine, everyone's got them. I'm just glad to have my friends back. So, forget it."

Sam's shoulders shifted as the tension left them, and he grinned in relief. "Thanks, Dean."

Dean waved it away. "No chick-flick moments."

"As a chick, I resent that statement," Meg said.

"No, no, I agree. I want to actually eat my food without you two being doey-eyed at each other," Ruby said, eating a sandwich.

"I'm starting to miss the time when it was just us guys," Gabriel moaned. Ruby elbowed him in the ribs. It was only _mostly_ playful.

"Well, I'm sure Cas missed us. Didn't you, Castiel?" Meg asked pointedly, her eyes running up and down the weapon and smiled.

Castiel nodded, a grin on his face. "It was….different. A strange situation occurred last night while you were gone," he admitted.

"Well that doesn't sound ominous at all!" Meg replied, eyes wide. "What exactly did you guys get up to over the past four days?"

Gabriel's face into a huge, mischievous smile, and he looked at Dean and Cas knowingly. "Please tell me I'm allowed to tell the story!"

Dean was grinning, and Castiel was pointedly looking at the salt and pepper shakers on the table, and not at anyone.

"Do I even want to know?" Ruby asked, glancing at Sam and Meg with a concerned look on her face.

"Well, I do," Meg said. "What have you been up too?"

"Well, you guys know the cabaret club in District 8? Chupa-Cabras? Turns out that, while the girls are nice, the drinks are even better," Gabriel said with a chuckle.

"But… you have to be 21 to get in…oh, you didn't!" Sam said in disbelief. He scoffed. "You guys! How?"

"It's a story, alright," Gabriel said, settling in for story time.

* * *

_It had already been a couple days without Samsquatch and the Biker babes; Dean had been getting all pouty, which made Cas even more constipated than normal. Despite my quick wit and lively conversation, Dean was still a grump without his precious Sammy around (I'm not really sure as to why, mind you, but my money was on his truly missing the bodacious duo that always followed nerd-boy around). _

_When I came around for dinner last night, I could see the tension was thick enough to slice with a machete between Dean and Cas. Though they didn't say anything, it was obvious both were pretty pissed. I was guessing that Dean, in his infinite wisdom and tendency to speak before thinking, had pissed off Cas with some colorful words earlier in the afternoon. Cas had my deepest respect for not having offed Dean the first chance he had. _

_I mean, I missed Sam, too. He was quiet and kinda normal, which considering our little friend group, is pretty refreshing. He's the blonde cousin Marilyn to our Munsters, ya know? And yes, even Meg and Ruby can be cool when they aren't threatening to stab you._

* * *

"It was one time! Geez, you're such a little bitch about _everything_," Ruby grumped.

"It was one time _four times during one class_, Ruby," Gabriel pointed out. "I think they really need to raise the math score requirements."

"Well, you shouldn't have been so annoying. There's only so many times I can take the Nyan Cat song during practice."

"That's what he was going on about? God, you should have stabbed him and done us all a favor," Dean muttered, remembering that particular class.

There had a pool amongst the students to see who snapped first and killed Gabriel, but Sid was the unexpected last-minute upset party. He had put duct tape over Gabriel's mouth and warned that if he removed the tape before practice was over he would have to clean the entire sparring room with a toothbrush.

Needless to say, Gabriel toned his pranking ways down a bit after that.

"Are you done interrupting my story?" Gabriel asked in a huff, arms crossed and face scowling.

Meg motioned for him to continue.

* * *

_ANYWAY, like I said, I was missing Sam and the girls, too, but that was no excuse to get snappy with my partner. Not that I would. Kali would kill me for trying anything on her. She's feisty like that. Ah…_

_Ahem, anyway. "Well, aren't you too full of piss and vinegar today?" I asked Dean and Cas as I sat at our table. Since both greeted me rather lacking in enthusiasm, and were glaring at each other, it was easy to see something was up._

_I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the old married couple. "Sam will come around, Dean! Taking it out on Cas isn't really nice."_

"_I already apologized," Dean muttered. Suddenly, he broke down into long, hiccupping sobs. The tears that flowed forth from his emerald diamonds drenched his half-eaten burger as it sat on the table before him. "I MISS SAM!" he wailed, gnashing his teeth and tearing at his hair—_

* * *

"For the love of God, Gabriel, that didn't _happen_!" Dean snapped, interrupting Gabriel's story. "Stop exaggerating, and stop lying!" he snarled. "I didn't cry, that's ridiculous."

The others around the table were in various states of laughter, though, and Meg was doubled over, repeating "emerald diamonds….hahaha!" as she let lose a howl of laughter. They were being so loud several students in the tables around them gave them evil glares, but no one noticed or cared.

Only Dean (who looked horrified and irritated) and Cas (who was trying not the laugh as to not irritate his roommate further) were not laughing at an ear-splitting decibel.

"Oh, come on, Dean! I'm just taking some artistic liberties to make it a little more interesting."

"Well, knock it off. It's emotionally scarring for everyone involved."

Gabriel stuck his tongue out at the older boy, and waited patiently for everyone to become quieter so he could continue his story.

* * *

"_Ugh, I can't stand this pity-fest any longer!" I said when I finished my meal, still in silence. I snapped my fingers to get Cas's and Dean's attention. "Listen up, chuckle-heads, let's go do something to get your mind off the family drama."_

"_What did you have in mind?" Cas asked hesitantly. I could tell he didn't really trust me, but whatever I had in mind __**had**__ to be better than dealing with emo-Dean._

_I put a finger to my lips and winked at them. "It's a secret. You two follow me, and we'll have ourselves a grand old time!" _

_Before I could let Dean dismiss my brilliant plan I walked away, and Cas (like the good little duckling he is) followed after me. Dean was forced to follow him (grumbling the entire time mind you). _

_A silent walk about 20 minutes long followed until we were standing before the ornate doors of Chuba-Capras._

"_Gabe…." Dean asked, trailing off. He looked at the sign, then at my smiling visage of perfection. "Is this…a strip joint?"_

_I had to shake my head a little remorsefully that it wasn't. "Not really," I said. "More song and dance than tits and ass but hey! There's beautiful women and alcohol." I said, wiggling my eyebrows, a mischievous twinkle in my eye. _

"_Hey, that sounds like my kind of party," Dean said, his frown flipping upside-down._

* * *

Ruby and Meg scoffed in tandem. "Come off it Dean! You wouldn't know what to do with a naked woman if she threw herself on top of you and gave you detailed instructions, complete with full-color diagrams," Ruby huffed.

"Yeah, and what's your poison, big guy? Root beer?" Meg teased.

Dean flipped them both off.

* * *

"_Well, we're here now. So, how exactly are you supposed to get in?" Dean asked me._

_Having planned for this contingency a while ago, I pulled out my pristine leather wallet from the back pocket of my jeans. I pulled out the I.D. I had tucked inside, and handed it to Dean._

_The miester's eyes grew wide at the I.D. card. "Dude, this is a pretty decent fake. 21, huh?" he asked with a smirk, eyeing me up and down. _

"_Everyone assumes that, just because I'm short, I'm young," I said nonchalantly. The line had actually stopped questioning glances before. "I mean, 21 is easier for me to pull off than any older, ya know? So, I will get inside, then find a back door or something and let you guys sneak in. How's that for a plan?"_

_I was confident in my abilities to get them in without notice, but Dean surprised me when he said "Yeah, no. I've got a better idea." _

_He reached and pulled out his own wallet, and flashed at me his own meticulously crafted fake._

_I couldn't help but be impressed. "Why exactly do you have one, too?"_

"_I'm a Hunter. Have to be able to get to the witnesses and do the job, not matter what. What about you?"_

_I rolled my eyes. "Lay off the noble knight thing, Dean-o. It's so I can have all the fun I want! Fun shouldn't be age restricted, don't cha think?"_

_Dean grinned, bad mood from earlier gone. "Gotta admit, I like you style."_

_I turned to Castiel, who was looking a little put-off by our nonchalant breaking of the law. I smirked at that look, and said "Well, you and me are covered, but what about Cassie, here?"_

_Dean looked at Cas, noticing that he hadn't even reacted to the awful nickname (which was a little irritating, I spend lots of time thinking them up). _

_In fact, Cas looked vaguely terrified, his eyes wide and glued to those ornate doors, while breathing shallow little breathes and looking sick._

"_Dude, you okay?" Dean said, asking the stupidest question he could at that moment. He put a hand on Castiel's shoulder, and at the contact he finally dragged his azure eyes from the golden doors. Instead, he glued them to Dean's, and they stared longfully at each other. _

_They were so enraptured with each other that they totally missed a meteorite that landed behind them. A man-eating alien cyborg emerged from the rock like a…rocky…egg, and it started to destroy the city around them, causing massive destruction around their unmoving, staring forms—_

* * *

"GABRIEL!" Everyone shouted in unison.

He rolled his eyes, but changed the story.

* * *

_Once Castiel's gaze fell on Dean, he cleared his throat a little. "I…um. Well, since you two seem to have a way inside, I'll just head back to the apartment and…read a book?" Castiel said, his tone questioning, asking Dean's permission._

"_Cassie, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were too chicken to go in with us," I said with a taunting tone (I won't deny it)._

"_Gabriel, there's no way for me to get in. So, you two have fun." Castiel tried, oh he tried to sound disappointed, but it came out too relieved for either Dean or I to believe._

"_Where's your sense of adventure?" I whined, stomping my foot. "Come on! Dean and I will head in and, once the coast is clear, pop a latch on a window for you."_

_Castiel crossed his arms. "It won't work, Gabriel."_

"_Won't know until we try!" I say forcefully._

"_Shove off!" Castiel cried. "Just let me go home and read my Cosmo and eat a tub of Ben and Jerry's that I hid in the freezer. Just leave me alone to be alone!"_

* * *

"Gabriel," Castiel said sternly. "Stop taking liberties with this story! And stop making up stupid things about me."

Gabriel sighed dramatically. "You're so _boring_, Cas! Why must you always be a stick in the mud?"

"You must you always lie and cause grief for everyone around you?"

"Because it's _fun_."

"Yes, well, you're also irresponsible and untrustworthy. I will take it from here."

"You're going to tell us what happened?" Dean and Gabriel asked in incredulous tandem.

"Yes," Cas said simply, and all eyes fell on him. He hadn't told the other boys had had happened the previous night, so Dean and Gabe watched him intently. "Now, be quiet and do not interrupt."

* * *

"_It won't work, Gabriel," I plainly stated._

_Gabriel rolled his eyes and huffed. "Won't know until we try!"_

_I glanced over the other two teenage boys, and noticed how eager both of them seemed to be. My stomach was still curling up in knots over the idea of us being caught and Lord Death being told of our extracurricular activities. I couldn't dishonor my family over a silly bar, but…Dean looked so eager and excited. _

_I let out a long sigh, hoping it would help unravel my nervous stomach. "Alright, fine. If you can figure out a plan, I will join you inside this…den of iniquity. However, I'm allowed to leave if it becomes…awkward, correct?"_

_Dean's lips were drawn tight and it was obvious he was biting the inside of his cheek, trying not to laugh. Which I didn't really understand, I hadn't said anything funny._

_Gabriel, being his usual self, was laughing loudly, which was not helping Dean's predicament at all._

"_What's so funny?" I questioned._

"'_Den of iniquity'? Really, Cas? Where did you learn your English from, Shakespeare?"_

_I ignored Dean's jab at me. Really, Dean could be so immature it was baffling to think he was the eldest of our entire group. _

"_Are we doing this or not?" I asked with finality in my voice. I hoped if I was bossy a bit, they'd either start going through with this ridiculous plan or they'd decide I was no fun and let me go home. Or maybe go see Meg. I missed her a lot when Sam was taking his leave of us…_

"_Don't get your boxers in a bunch," Gabriel said, eyes gaining a mischievous glint. He elbowed Dean in the side playfully. "Come on, Dean, time to fast forward this show to the good part!"_

* * *

_I waited in an alley alongside the bar, pacing back and forth in front of a dirty glass window near the back of the establishment. In my mind, I was already up to the count of 1,020—roughly 17 minutes, and there was still no sign of either Gabriel or Dean._

"_Where are you guys?" I muttered under my breath. I paused and loosened my blue tie and even popped the first button on my shirt. My nerves were making me warm and flustered. _

_I was beginning to worry that something had happened to Dean. Maybe they had been caught, and were perhaps being detained for breaking the law? Perhaps the police were going to come and arrest them? Worst-case scenarios started playing in my head, but I had to reframe from panicking. Dean wouldn't let me live it down if I burst inside and blew their cover too soon._

_I kept count, and once I got to 1,500 (roughly 25 minutes), I fixed my gaze on the glass window, and swallowed. "Alright. It's obvious you idiots got yourselves into trouble. Now, I've got to get you out."_

_Despite my bravado, the window was securely latched, and I will admit I was stymied for several minutes. When I couldn't force it open, I ended up wandering towards a dumpster bin down the alley, looking for something that could help me open it. I ended up finding a rusted wire coat hanger, and an idea formed in my mind. I straightened it out as I walked back to the window, thinking that I could try and use it to pop the latch inside and let myself in._

_I actually managed to get the wire to slip through a crack under the window ledge, but I couldn't get it to undone the latch inside. I know I must have been a sight: a teenage boy muttering angrily to himself, trying to jimmy the window open to the basement of a cabaret bar. _

_The more I tried to force the wire, the more I leaned on the window. I was so focused on the stupid latch and wanted to make sure Gabriel and Dean weren't in any sort of deadly situation that I didn't notice the windowpane shaking violently under my weight._

"_Come on, open already!" I ordered, and hissed in anger when the wire missed the latch again. I was getting so frustrated that I shook it harder than I meant, and suddenly the window opened inside under me. The window slid forward, and I ended up in a crumbled heap on the floor underneath the flapping window._

* * *

Tears were streaming down Dean's face as he imagined the sight, not even trying to keep the mirth from escaping. "Oh, God Cas, I need to teach you how to break and enter properly! Hahaha!"

Castiel glared at his partner, trying to silent him with the power of his stare, but Dean seemed unaffected. Cas didn't even bother to try and stifle the laughter from Sam, the girls, or Gabriel. Despite the blush spreading over his face, Castiel kept going with the story.

* * *

_I lay on the floor for several long seconds, willing my pounding heart to stop being so loud and throbbing painfully in my chest. The sudden shock must have frozen me after the fact, and when I finally could move I was relieved to find I wasn't hurt from the fall._

_I carefully and quietly got to my feet, dusting off from myself little bits of wood from the window and dust. I straightened my tie and ran a hand through my hair, getting any cobwebs out of it._

_Though it was dark inside, there was enough light from the streetlight coming into the window for me to realize I was in an unlit bathroom, evidenced by the row of stalls on one side of the room and the several sinks on the other. When I looked back I saw the window was still hanging open. I closed it quietly, not wanting to leave any evidence of my unorthodox entrance if anyone glanced over the room._

_I went to one of the sinks and cleaned up my face and hands. I sighed at my reflection in the mirror, mostly a black silhouette in the low light. "Dean, you have better be in serious trouble," I grumbled to myself._

_I cracked open the door and looked out to see an empty hallway before me. Having no idea where I was, I walked slowly and quietly down the hallway, listening for any indications of Dean or Gabriel. There was loud singing coming from the opposite direction, but I clearly heard a loud male voice coming from a closed door across the hall from me. _

"_Dean? Gabriel?" I called out quietly, but there was no answer. Stepping up the door, I could hear more noise, shuffling of some sort inside, so I silently turned the knob and slipped inside, pulling the door closed behind me, I turned around and saw Dean and Gabriel sitting on the floor of a dressing room, with three extremely annoyed looking show girls guarding them._

* * *

"Oh, God, you were being detained by playboy bunnies? Hahaha!" Sam laughed loudly.

"You dangerous youth, you! Just one more step and you'll be on the F.B.I.'s Most Wanted!" Ruby chimed in.

"It just sounds like the introduction to a really bad porno," Meg commented.

"Well, there _was_ a happy ending," Gabriel promised.

* * *

_I was so shocked by their outfits (lots of lace, sheer fabric, fishnet stockings, high heels, and I swear they had fake bunny ears on their heads in different colors) that I gasped, drawing their attention to me._

"_Another one? What the hell is going on today!" One of the girls, dressed in a black outfit, huffed. "This isn't a place for babies!" She said in annoyance, crossing her arms across her chest._

"_I'm not a baby," I said in annoyance, and all three girls' eyes went wide. I forget my voice is unusually low for someone my size. _

"_Hey, Professor!" Gabriel said suddenly. He looked up at the girls and put on a nervous look that almost had me convinced. "You're here to take us back to school, right? Straight to the big boss Death himself?" he said._

_Dean nodded enthusiastically, and the girl's all narrowed their eyes at me suspiciously. I unconsciously loosened my tie at their stares, but I caught on quickly to Gabriel's plan._

"_Um….yes…Gabriel," I said, trying to sound as authoritative as possible. "I was close-by when Death asked me to…um…come pick you troublemakers up," I said, trying to keep from stuttering, or blushing._

_The girls looked at each other, then at Dean and Gabriel again. "Well, if he's here for them, he can have 'em," the girl in black said. The other two (one in white and one in red) took a step back, allowing Dean and Gabriel to get to their feet. Dean gave me wink and Gabriel actually managed to look vaguely contrite._

"_Thank you," I told the girls in question, and I was able to not stutter because I was sincere. I took a few steps forward, grabbed Gabriel and Dean's shoulders and looked them sternly in the eyes. "You two are getting detention for the rest of the year! I'm not going to bail you out again if you can't follow the rules! I'm really sorry," I said to the girls._

_I marched out of the room, straight through the entrance (explaining to the hostess I was a professor picking up the idiots) and we walked right out the front door._

* * *

"Oh my God! Hahaha!" Sam laughed.

Ruby didn't even bother trying to keep quiet her snorts of near hysterical laughter.

"So, what exactly gave you idiots away?" Sam asked.

Dean shrugged. "As well as my Dad made mine, Gabriel's I.D. was still pretty sub-par—"

"Hey! I resent that, asshole!"

"—I'm pretty sure they saw him coming a mile away. And when he got busted he dragged me under the bus with him," Dean said, and although he scowled he wasn't really angry.

Meg let out a disappointed sigh. "Cas, if you keep bailing them out, they'll never learn," she said, but then sent Castiel a subtle wink. "I will admit, Professor Castiel has a nice ring, doesn't it?" she said with a teasing lilt to her voice.

Castiel's face beamed in pride for saving Dean and Gabriel's asses.

"Quick thinking with that whole 'Professor' shtick," Sam complimented Gabriel.

The trickster took a little bow at the table. "Cas lent himself to the role rather well. The voice, the clothes, the stick-in-the-mud attitude. I figured no one would really question it."

"And if they didn't buy it?" Ruby asked curiously.

"Well, I'm pretty sure the red-haired bunny in white liked me," Dean said casually. "I'd have convinced her to let us go."

"And I had a smoke bomb, since we all know _that_ plan would have crashed right away take-off," Gabriel said with a snicker, making Dean throw a glare at him.

"Wow, it sounds we missed all the fun," Meg said a little sadly.

Castiel leaned in close to her, and said quietly "Well, they think I'm a Professor, so I'm allowed back in." Castiel gave her a shy grin. "We could always go some time."

Meg's eyebrow quirked up at the suggestion. "Was that a _date_ suggestion, Clarence?"

Castiel looked away, a blush creeping over his cheeks. "It is what it is," he said vaguely. He preferred to let her interrupt it as she wished.

Meg smiled, and patted his shoulder. "You're too sweet, Cas. Tell you what, I'll hold onto that little thought, and when the time is right I'll let you know. Deal?"

Cas nodded, a little disappointed she hadn't said yes immediately, but he could be patient. Meg liked to call the shots, so he'd let her do so. They turned their attention back to the table at large; no one else at the table seemed to have been listening to Meg and Castiel's discussion.

"So, did anything happen after that?" Sam asked.

Dean shook his head. "Nope, that was last night. And we all are again! Just like old times. We should hang tonight, in celebration of the gang getting back together."

Sam shook his head and gave Dean an incredulous look. "Dean, you do remember tomorrow is the biggest mid-term exam of the semester, right?"

Dean looked at Sam and shrugged. "No big deal. I'm an expert on killing monsters."

"Alright there, Einstein, but some of us actually want to pass this class. We're gonna go study," Sam said, causing both girls to complain loudly.

"Hey!" Gabriel said, getting everyone's attention. "How about you guys come to my place to study? Kali doesn't get out much, and if we all help each other, we'll all get awesome grades."

Sam scowled. "No, we'll all get distracted with each other and our grades will plummet."

Gabriel laughed. "The friends who fail together flip burgers together!" he said cheerfully.

"I like burgers," Dean said with a grin. He looked at Cas, and asked his opinion by raising his eyebrows. Cas shook his head slightly, and Dean looked like a kicked puppy.

"Well, we all know you're going to fail, Dean," Ruby said. "I think it might be best if we go our separate ways on this one."

Gabriel looked disappointed, but he waved them away. "Fine! Go be buzzkills elsewhere."

"After?" Sam suggested, imaging that after such a brutal test he'd need some laughter.

Gabriel tapped his chin in thought. "Sure thing, Sammy!" he said, disappointment replaced with excitement.

"Alright. We've got," Sam looked at his watch. "14 hours until the mid-term. Good luck, guys!"


End file.
